A Troubled Past
by allyg1990
Summary: Deborah Risman once said that HYDRA dealt in information. Sometimes, you need brute force and that’s why HYDRA created X23. Other times, it’s a better idea to be subtle. That’s why two very special operatives were brought into play. COMPLETE.
1. Prologue

_Here goes. Wherever this is labeled 'Present time' it means after Apocalypse. This may seem very confusing at first, but I promise it will straighten itself out._

_As usual, I own nothing, apart from my two characters, and the plot. _

_Summary: Deborah Risman once said that HYDRA dealt in information. Sometimes, you need brute force. That's why they created X23. Other times, it's a better idea to be subtle. That's why two special operatives were brought into play. _

16 Years Ago

It was midday when a short, stocky man walked into a local newsagent, his eyes wandering to the newspapers perched on a small stand by the door. He picked a copy up, one finger lifting the brim of his cowboy hat so he could read the article on the cover:

"_17 Year old Heiress Titania Richards has been reported missing after her parent's death in last weeks plane crash disaster. Miss Richards is an only child and police suspect that she was kidnapped by an elite criminal organization (The house showed no signs of a break-in, and the security tapes were destroyed) to extort her multi million dollar fortune…"_

"It's a sad story, that." Commented the shopkeeper when he saw what his customer was reading. The man dropped the paper onto the checkout desk.

"That's a dollar seventy." The shopkeeper noted , slightly unnerved by the man's silence as he pulled two dollar bills from one pocket, not waiting for his change as he walked out.

The shopkeeper didn't see the man pull a cell phone from his pocket, punching a few keys and holding it to his ear.

"This is a pleasant surprise, Logan." The Professors voice was warm and friendly. Wolverine grunted in reply.

"Read today's paper, Charles. I think you'll find it interesting."

"Thank you for informing me. Can we expect to see you soon?"

"Don't count on it." With that the Canadian hung up, pocketing the phone and driving away into the distance on his motorbike.

One Year Ago

_Eerie green light envelops me as I float, hair fanning out around me like a ghostly halo, the breathing tube fixed to my face and the other cables suckered to my body my only means of survival. I know everything; I know nothing. The only thing I am constantly aware of is the burning pain engulfing every bone in my body._

_I don't want comfort- not that I have ever truly understood the meaning of the word. It was one of those abstract ideas that they tried to explain to me, and never really succeeded, my overtly intelligent brain failing to grasp a concept so alien, a feeling it had never experienced._

_No. Not comfort. Revenge._

A/N: Please review. I really need feedback on this.


	2. Awakening

_Chapter 1- Calypso's POV._

_It's been so long._ I thought worriedly as I gazed down at the young girl lying motionless in front of me on a piece of tarpaulin, the only indication that she was alive the shallow rising and falling of her chest. Would this be the day she would finally wake from her induced sleep? If she did, would she have changed for the better? More importantly, how much would she remember?

_No matter. It's been three months._ The only thing keeping her alive was her healing factor and the scarce amount of liquid food I was able to trickle into her mouth every so often, most of it soaking into her cracked lips.

I resisted the urge to stroke my thumb against her forehead. The gesture would be too motherly.

_Would it be so wrong to think of her as my daughter?_ I argued. _After all, we share the same flesh and blood._ Then I caught sight of her bright blonde curls, and winced. _With a few…alterations._

I raised my hand to my own scalp, thoughtfully fingering my own dark brown hair as I gazed out at the forest surrounding us. I didn't know exactly where we were; I hadn't needed to find out. The provisions I'd stolen at the same time as that one precious computer file, had lasted me so far. Lasted _us_ so far.

I was jerked from my thoughts by the fluttering of her eyelids, and panic gripped me. What if the mind wipe they'd done hadn't been complete? Would she turn on me because of our relationship? I was only thirty three- in my opinion, too young to die!

All I could do was peer anxiously at her, half hoping that she'd finally wake up, half praying she'd stay in that safe coma that had trapped her for the last few months. The coma that ensured that she wouldn't take her anger out on them; on anyone. They'd learnt their lesson with that other subject, and they weren't taking any chances with her.

Then, just as I let my guard down, her eyes flicked open and she leapt up, the hand she clamped on my wrist instinctively and effortlessly throwing me into the mud. I broke my fall, the sixteen years of training unconsciously taking effect.

"Who are you? What do you want with me?" she snarled, her tone sounding strange when it came from the ruby red lips of an angel, her luxurious waves of blonde hair framing her face, her piercing blue eyes angry.

"You can call me Calypso." I said curtly. Then, after a moment's hesitation: "I'm your…mother…"

She released my arm, backing away with cat-like grace, her face expressionless, only her eyes betraying a hint of confusion and fear.

"And who am I?" she asked at last. I breathed a silent sigh of relief. She didn't remember.

"Your name is Calliope. Callie, if you want." The name I'd chosen for her.

"Calliope. Callie." She tasted the name on her tongue, rolling it around her mouth like the gobstoppers I used to love as a child. A stab of homesickness struck me, but I pushed it down. It had been sixteen years. I had no family. Nothing to feel homesick for.

With a hint of surprise, she spoke again.

"One of the muses." I nodded. They'd educated her extensively. It would have been necessary for her purpose later on. "Where are we?" I shrugged.

"A forest." Her features hardened.

"I may not remember my past, but I'm not simple." She snapped, paling as she realized that she'd unwittingly confirmed what I already knew was true: She didn't remember a thing. I took it in my stride; sixteen years of spy training will do that to a person. Not that I'd ever had to use those skills.

"In Canada. I'm not sure where." I clarified.

"Where are we going?" I stiffened. Had her powers, the same that I possessed, reignited already, alerting her to my fears and hopes?

"I don't think I mentioned going anywhere." I trod cautiously. It was her turn to shrug.

"It looks like your supplies are running low; you have about two weeks until they run out completely. We need to move if we want to survive." I sat down on a log, relieved.

"You've got me on that one." I confessed. "There are some people…friends…they can help us." Her face was emotionless, cold and calculating. I shivered. They'd beaten it out of her at a young age.

"Where?" she asked. I didn't have to rack my brains to remember; that knowledge had been the shred of hope I'd held onto for the last three months.

"Bayville, New York"

_Calliope's Point of View_

I was awake again. I had a mother. I had a _name_.

It wouldn't have been strictly correct to say that I remembered _nothing_. There were little flickers, all nonsensical, none of them adding up. My only strong memory was of myself, trapped in green liquid, tubes and cables stuck all over my body. That, and intense, burning pain.

Apart from that, my only link with this unfamiliar world was that woman, who said she was my mother, calling herself Calypso.

I wasn't so sure. Her hesitation in giving herself that title made me think otherwise. But for now, she was my only link. Even bad information was better than no information.

I definitely needed information. Especially about my past. Where did all this knowledge in my head come from? The things I knew… how to manipulate people, injure, kill them- how to stay hidden, how to react to anything, how to fight-who put it there?

I narrowed my eyes at Calypso, sitting smugly on her branch as she used a piece of flint and a pocket knife to make a small fire. I could stand her for now, but soon enough, I would figure out her little secret. And then there would be hell to pay.

For the next few days we wandered around the forest, not aimlessly as I was sure she would have without me, but using the stars to slowly make our way south- towards these 'friends'. Another thing I was almost sure she was lying about.

However, what else could I do- with no memories, I had no purpose in life. Maybe these people could help me. I quickly shunned that thought. _No-one_ could help me. I would have no friends. I was the only person I could ever truly trust.

Calypso never addressed me by name: I sometimes think that the name was only a formality. I returned the favour, her name never leaving my lips. We barely ever talked either; most of the time I just watched her, searching for a single slip of the tongue, a slight variation in behaviour that might give me a clue to what she was hiding.

A week later we finally reached the edge of the forest, the survival instinct that had been tormented for the last few helpless days rejuvenating when I saw a highway. Calypso looked at me, as if to ask, _what do we do now?_ And I vaulted over the low railing in reply. Within an hour of silent walking, we reached a small town.

It was an unfamiliar experience, though I must have seen a town before; why wouldn't I have? Before we came too close, the older woman pulled out a dark blue windbreaker from the satchel she carried, handing it to me.

"Put it on. That uniform of yours is a little conspicuous." She noted. I looked down, frowning. My clothing was simple, black leggings and a black top. Whatever I thought, I should probably do what she said. In any case, it would avoid angering her. That was one thing I didn't need.

I looked around warily as we walked through, the few furious that she would touch me, on the other confused as to why I had that reflex. people walking down the streets largely ignoring us. A few minutes later, Calypso spotted a small shop and grabbed my arm to direct me into it. I quickly pulled away from her grip, on one hand

The door opened with a tinkling noise, and I scanned the shop for threats. There was one elderly woman with a wire basket slipped onto her arm, a fairly young child staring at a collection of plastic boxes labelled 'Candy'.

My 'mother' confidently walked through the aisles, putting certain objects into a wire basket she had picked up from a neat pile by the doorway. Mostly food, from what I could see and smell. A plastic package that smelt very strongly of a familiar scent I couldn't quite identify, that triggered distant memories.

Metal walls flashed across my vision.

Vials, syringes, scalpels

A vat of bubbling metal

I blinked, keeping my outward expression calm. Inside, however, my brain was churning, trying to make sense of what I had learnt- What did it all mean?

My attention was diverted as Calypso walked towards a man with a cash register, her whole attitude completely changing as she smiled coyly at him, standing up a little straighter, resting her weight on one hip.

The man's reaction was instantaneous.

"You're not from these parts, are you, honey?" he asked, smiling back at her in the same way. She shook her head, brown curls bobbing.

"No, sir. We're just passing through. My name's Sasha." She offered, and I saw that she didn't falter as she quickly made up a new alias for herself.

"I'm John." He replied, as scanned her items and put them into a large brown paper bag. "That'll be twenty seven dollars and eighty cents."

That was when I saw it. I saw a beam of pure silver light stretch out from her temples and wrap around _John_, as she spoke, her tone as level as it had been.

"Well, John, my daughter and I, we've got a long way to go, and I'm afraid after paying for our bus tickets, we have no money left." She apologized, her lower lip pouting a little bit. I stood warily, wondering what on earth was going on. John smiled broadly.

"Well, I'm sure I can make an exception, just this once." He supplied. She smiled at him again.

"Thank you so much, John. You won't regret it." She promised. His smile just got wider as he slipped a piece of paper into the bag along with the things Calypso had bought.

"I'm hoping that when you reach your destination, you'll call me." He said with a wink. She giggled.

"You can count on it." She promised, and we walked out of the shop.

As soon as we reached an alleyway I jumped at her, pushing her against a wall, one hand clamped around her throat, the other pinning down one of her arms.

"You owe me an explanation!" I growled. Her eyes widened in a visible display of fear.

"Back there- let me start from the beginning. In this world, there are two types of people- normal humans, and mutants. I'm a mutant. That means I have a special power. My power is that I can make people do what I want them to do. That's what I did to that man- I made him give us our groceries for free." I withdrew the hand around her neck, still keeping my other hand clamped to her arm.

"What about me?" I demanded. She sighed, rubbing a hand around her neck.

"When you fell into that sleep, your powers were repressed. I don't know when they will come back; if they do. You have- had- the same power as me. That's why you can see it." She was telling the truth- or at least, part of it. I let her go.

"Anything else you want to tell me?" I asked. She winced as she brought herself to a standing position.

"No." she said firmly, dusting herself off and continuing on to a bus stop and reading a sign. I hung back, going over what she had said.

She was a mutant with powers. I had powers too. All this was connected in some way, I just didn't know _how_.

It was a revelation, to say the least. Life just kept on getting more and more complicated.

Until the bus arrived, we stood there, Calypso sitting neatly on a red bench with her legs crossed. I refused to sit, ever watching.

When the bus finally pulled up in front of us, Calypso stepped on, and I followed after her, looking around curiously. I knew you _must_ have to pay for a bus- nothing in life comes free- so I was a little less shocked when I saw the familiar beam of silver light wrap around the bus conductor, until he too smiled and waved us past.

"We'll be there in around ten hours. Try to get some sleep." She warned me as we sat down next to each other in the empty bus. I didn't trust her not to leave, or get off at the right stop, so I stayed in a tranquil half-asleep state I somehow knew would give me energy, but I kept my sensitive ears and nose alert, waiting for trouble.

_Hope that clears a few things up,_

_allyg1990_


	3. First Encounter

_Flames, critiques, what's good, what's bad, anything works in a review. So PLEASE post one. Even if you hate it, tell me WHY. _

_The X-Men (especially X23) get their first appearances!_

_Calliope_

When at last, almost nine hours later, the bus stopped at the Canadian border, I had to wake Calypso up to subtly use her powers on the man inspecting passports. However, neither of us fell asleep after that- we were on the receiving end of very suspicious glances from the other passengers on the bus.

We sat there for another two hours until nightfall, Calypso barely hiding the fact that she was very nervous, with me keeping my face, as usual, expressionless.

It was a relief to finally walk off the bus, with a passing wave to the driver. The bus station had a free map of the town on offer, and I took one; it would probably be necessary.

I followed Calypso as she walked out onto the road, and then snatched the map from my hand.

"Our friends- they're not far away. We will have to walk a little, though." Her voice was apologetic. I shrugged.

"Lead the way."

It took around half an hour to reach those tall cast iron gates. She stood nervously in front of a button, wondering if she should press it. I peered through the bars of the gate, scanning the area. Their security was formidable; I could smell the metal of many guns. But unless Calypso made her mind up soon, we wouldn't be going anywhere.

That was what drove me to climb confidently over the gate.

"Get down!" she hissed. "Intruding is no way to make friends." I shook my head and, spotting a large tree branch, leapt from my perch and swung around it, my agility kicking in. There I waited, looking around to plan my next move.

_Laura/X23_

It was just like any other night- I was lying in bed, not quite asleep, when I caught a scent. I sat up in bed, trying to identify it. It wasn't something I'd smelt in over a year, since my escape. That meant it was someone from HYDRA.

Not thinking to alert anyone, I stealthily slipped out of the window and jumped onto the ground. I had to kick myself as alarms started sounding- the security had already been turned on. Before I could warn anyone that it was me, two feet slammed into my chest and someone pinned me to the ground.

It was a girl around my age, blonde and blue eyed, wearing the familiar black fighting clothes and a dark blue windbreaker. Someone vaguely familiar.

"Who are you?" I snarled, wresting out of her grip and snapping back to my feet. She didn't speak, but her eyes narrowed. Then she attacked.

I popped my claws, wincing at the pain before the skin healed again, darting forward to slice her arm. She flipped backwards out of my way, grabbed a tree branch and swung over it, coming down to kick me. I dodged, jumping at her again.

We continued in this way for a few minutes, until finally my claws cut deep into her arm. She didn't flinch, though I could see she was gritting her teeth. Then, metal hit metal- but this was something my adamantium couldn't cut. With horror, I withdrew the blades, watching as her skin knitted itself back together in a familiar process.

Adamantium skeleton; a healing factor; she was another clone.

Before either of us could react, a harsh mental presence cut through my mind, and as we dropped to the ground, I could see that she was familiarly affected.

_Stop this! _Ordered the Professor's voice. _Laura, please come to my office now. Logan will deal with this girl and the other woman currently scaling our walls._ I looked; there was indeed a woman, dark haired, but otherwise similar in shape to this girl, climbing the wall, again someone strangely familiar. A few seconds later a telekinetic force lifted her off her feet, levitating her over to Logan, who had one arm around the girl.

"Don't fight." He cautioned, grabbing her with his other arm. She didn't resist, and I saw them both being carried towards the door. The professor must have put the girl to sleep or something; she was limp and unmoving. I shook my head. _I thought HYDRA was destroyed. Apparently I was wrong._

A few minutes later, we reached the office. The Professor was sitting behind his desk dressed in the robe we always saw him dressed in during the evenings. When we entered, he looked up.

"Ah, Logan. I see you've brought our visitors. Please, set the girl down on the couch; I'm afraid I've had to put her to sleep so she doesn't hurt anyone. Now, you, my dear," he started, turning towards the woman, who had been released and was shakily sitting down on the chair my dad offered her. "Would you explain who you are and what you are doing here?"

She was silent for a few moments, and when she spoke, the fear was evident in her voice.

"We need your help. My name is Titania Richards-" Wolverine interrupted her.

"That girl who was kidnapped around sixteen years back?" he asked incredulously. She nodded.

"You must think that I was kidnapped for money. In actual fact, I am a mutant, like you."

_A mutant? Why would someone kidnap her for being a mutant?_

"Go on." Professor Xavier's voice was thoughtful.

"I was kidnapped by an organization called Hydra. They planned to use me as a spy, because of my particular ability. I am able to sense the needs and fears of a person, and manipulate their emotions to suit my will." She took a breath, and carried on.

"Unfortunately for them, I made a poor spy. A year after my capture, they decided to clone me. I knew that they were making progress with cloning with a different project, and with her-" She gestured to the sleeping girl. "They were able to change parts of her DNA, to make her more suitable for the specific purpose they'd created her for. They changed her hair and eye colour, added a healing factor-"

"_My_ healing factor." Logan interrupted again, trying to control his anger. The woman looked up with surprise.

"You are Wolverine?" she asked incredulously. He gave a curt nod.

"Yeah. And that kid over there-" he pointed to me. "She's my clone." She spun around to look at me, and I realized where I'd seen her before.

"You were that woman." I croaked. "The one who smiled at me, just before I went through the weapon X process." She nodded sadly.

"Yes. They were taking me to a training session. I felt for you, because I knew a girl, someone closer to me than my daughter, would soon be going through that process herself soon afterwards. It traumatized her to the extent that they had to wipe her mind to keep her from trying to get revenge." The professor cleared his throat.

"Would you be so kind as to explain more about the motives behind this particular project?" she nodded.

"It was named 'Operation: Calypso.' It is a well known fact that most businesses worth stealing information about are run by men. Most men have a particular weakness; that weakness is beautiful women. When a woman can seduce someone with just her looks, one with the power to ensure that the information she wants is given to her as well as looking suitable pretty is a great asset to any spying organization. Such women would not be noticed like an operative like X23 would. It is common for such powerful men to…enjoy the company…of women. That would be an operative's cover story." She again gestured to the girl.

"That was what they wanted for her." She said softly. "When she was old enough, she would infiltrate various organizations by seducing the people in charge. She was educated extensively in order to fit in with people who had received a good education. Her combat skills are also formidable- much more impressive than mine."

She paused for a moment, and then continued. "The scariest thing about her is none of those things. I want her to live a normal life; I feel responsible for her. Unfortunately, unlike you," she looked at me. "They were able to completely eradicate her capability to feel emotion."

I stepped back. The professor looked shocked, and then composed himself.

"Well, Miss Richards, we will certainly offer you both a place here at the institute. We will also work on… What did you say her name was?"

"I didn't. She had no name, so I call her Calliope." The professor nodded.

"We will work on Calliope's little problem. I'm fairly certain that with some cooperation from her, I will be able to unlock that segment of her mind." The woman nodded, clearly relieved. "Logan will escort you to your room. We will keep Calliope under observation. Laura, please go back to sleep. I will see you tomorrow morning." I nodded and walked out of the door, heading swiftly back to my room. Some of the other students were still awake, including Alex Summers. He'd moved in after the Apocalypse incident, shortly before I joined.

"Are you okay?" he asked, his voice concerned, blonde hair flopping over his eyes. I shook my head.

"No. But I'll explain tomorrow." I promised. He smiled sympathetically and walked away.

I didn't get much sleep that night.

_I kept that short, since it's a lot of information in a short space. PLEASE take the time to review._

_Allyg1990_


	4. Meet the Mutants

Chapter 3- _Calliope_

_I was drowning in green liquid, thrashing, trying to escape from the invisible walls of my prison. My fingers clawed uselessly at the glass, my eyes widening at the indifferent expressions of the scientists, my breaths getting shorter, the pain intensifying with every movement-_

I sat up in a strange bed, immediately aware that my wrists and legs were clamped into place. A man in a wheelchair sat calmly by my side as I desperately tried to free myself. They had captured me.

"Ah. You are awake." He stated the obvious. "I am Professor Charles Xavier."

"Release me!" I snarled. He folded his hands on his lap.

"I'm afraid that until we talk, I cannot. You would only endanger yourself and my students." I growled internally.

"Then talk." I ordered. He smiled and began to speak.

"I believe that the woman you call Calypso has not been entirely honest with you."

"You can say that again." He nodded.

"It is my opinion that it is necessary that you know everything. However, before I begin, I would like you to promise that you will not harm Calypso when I have told you."

_How's he going to know if I'm lying or not?_ I thought stubbornly. His eyes crinkled at the edges.

_My dear, I am a telepath._ I jerked, wary of this mental contact. _It would not be advisable to lie in my presence._ I considered. My need for information far surpassed my desire to hurt the woman.

"Fine. I won't kill or injure her. Now tell me."

"Very well. In that case, I will start at the beginning." He took a breath.

"Sixteen years ago, a young woman by the name of Titania Richards was kidnapped by an organization called Hydra."

_Hydra? Why was that name so familiar?_

"Hydra planned to use her as a spy to infiltrate organizations using her ability to manipulate people's emotions. However, she made a poor spy, and spurred on by the conception of a clone created from the DNA of a man called Wolverine, they cloned her, making alterations to the sample of DNA to incorporate Wolverine's healing factor, and also to slightly change her appearance. Nine months later, that child was born. She was trained from birth to feel no emotion, to be ruthless and cold-hearted. She was well-educated and trained to have superior combat skills." He paused very slightly before continuing.

"When she was fourteen years old, they bonded adamantium metal to her bones, knowing that they would succeed because they had done the same thing to the other clone two years before. However, this process was extremely painful, and the girl was severely traumatised, taking out her anger on the scientists who had done that to her. Her mind was wiped, burying all of her memories. This put her into a deep coma while her mind recovered from the ordeal. In the meantime, the operative known as X23 destroyed the Hydra base, allowing Miss Richards to escape with the girl and some provisions. Three months later, she woke up, and you know the rest."

My mind was whirring with this newfound information. _I'm a clone. Her clone. The pain… I know where it came from. And then they wiped my mind._

Then a few select memories flashed through mind.

_Me, alone and worthless, sitting alone in a corner._

_Me, screaming in pain as they operated without anaesthetic._

And the one memory, that if I was able to feel emotion, I would have been horrified at.

_I was in a room, a row of obstacles separating me from a person, wide eyed and staring fearfully, tied to a chair on the other side of the room._

"_Begin" said a voice, and I ran, easily dodging the lasers and leaping over the pits to reach that person. Then I stood over him, drawing the knife that was strapped to my thigh. I hesitated, knowing that this was a weakness. Then the voice spoke again._

"_Kill him." And I looked down at his face, terrified and trying to whisper._

"_Please…no…" But I didn't listen, burying the knife in his chest._

_That was the day I lost my humanity._

I was finally released from the grip of my past, shaking uncontrollably on the bed. The man tried to put his fingers to my temples, but I moved away.

"Don't get into my mind without my permission." I hissed, glaring at him. He withdrew his hands.

"If you are to live here, I can help you. I would like to free the portion of your mind that feels emotion, the part that has been trapped for the last few years." I turned over the proposal. Emotion was weakness, and he wanted to weaken me. But he _was_ a telepath, and maybe he could-

"I'll let you. But you have to do something for me." He nodded.

"Whatever you wish, within reason." I stared him straight in the eye, and took a breath.

"I want you to help me get my memories back." He thought about it for what seemed like an eternity, then nodded.

"As you wish. I will, in any case, try- sometimes the mind does not want to give up its secrets." That was going to be the best I got for him, so I didn't talk again.

"Now, I'd like you to meet someone. Hank!" he called. A man appeared, ape-like in shape and covered in blue fur. "This is Dr. Hank McCoy. If you give your word not to resist, and also not to run away, and to be generally civil, he will release you. We will give you a physical examination for our records, and if you like, you will become one of my students."

"Thanks, but no thanks." I shook my head. "I answer to no-one. But I will accept your offer of hospitality for the moment." The blue-furred man unlocked the clamps on my wrists and ankles, and I hopped off, taking a moment to stretch. The Professor wheeled himself out of the room, and this Dr. McCoy man led me over to another table.

"Please lie down. I will just run you through this machine," he tapped a large metal box-like contraption. "And then we'll call one of the students to take you around."

I obeyed him, and he gently pushed the table through the machine, which emitted a buzzing noise. When I had gone through, I slid off the table and went to stand behind the doctor, who was tapping away at a computer screen.

"Here we go. You blood type is O positive, you have a complete adamantium skeleton, and your powers include a strong healing factor and the ability to sense and manipulate emotions. Nothing you don't know, I'm sure." I nodded, and he moved away to pick up a sheet of paper coming out of a printer.

"Well, that's that. Your guide should be here any-" The girl from last night burst in. "-minute." I unconsciously assumed a fighting stance, but she walked up to me and smiled warmly, extending one hand, her claws sheathed.

"Hi. I never got a chance to introduce myself last night. I'm Laura." I cautiously took her hand, and shook it.

"I am Calliope. Callie." I surprised myself by adding in the nickname. She smiled even wider.

"Come on. I'll show you around." She led the way out of the medical centre, and into the bowels of this new building.

"So you're from Hydra too?" I nodded, slightly confused.

"Are you that other…clone?" She nodded, her face hardening a little.

"Yes. Do you remember a man from last night? Claws like mine, only three? He's Wolverine, the man I was cloned from."

"He was in the background when we were fighting. You're pretty good." I added. She smiled appreciatively.

"I'm out of practice. The only person who's my level here is Wolverine, and it gets a bit old fighting the same person. He never changes his fighting style. Someone with the sense to vary her tactics a bit would be refreshing to fight against." We came to a door, undecorated unlike many of the others we had passed. She turned the knob and pushed it open.

"This is your room. The professor will get someone to take you shopping for clothes and stuff; he knows I'm not really into that kind of thing." I looked around; there was a twin size bed, a chest of drawers, and a desk with a slim, closed laptop sitting on it. I'd never had my own room before.

"It's nice." I commented. Laura grinned.

"For me, it was just nice having a home. Feeling accepted. Okay, not quite accepted- accepting a trained weapon was hard for them. But you could say I have friends."

"I can't have friends." I pointed out. "I'm not capable of caring about people." The other girl, scarcely a few months older, shrugged.

"You will. It takes a while." She walked out again, and motioned for me to follow, leading me down a flight of steps.

"This is the rec. room." She explained, pointing out a couch and a television. Then she walked through another door.

"And this is the kitchen. We're just in time for lunch." Sitting around a table were several teenagers, three girls and five boys. When we walked in they turned to look at us.

"This is Callie." Laura said simply, walking over to a blonde boy who was waving her over, and sitting down next to him. I cautiously took a seat between a red headed girl wearing green, and a younger brunette boy.

"I'm Rahne." The girl introduced herself, her accent noticeably Scottish. I smiled cautiously.

"Hi." The boy impatiently tried to get my attention.

"I'm Jamie." He said shyly.

"He's the runt." Butted in another boy who looked to be about a year older than me. He then turned and smiled widely.

"I'm Bobby. Iceman, if you prefer." He added, grinning wickedly as he stretched out his hand, a small pillar of ice forming over his hand. I did a double take as he dropped it neatly into his glass of water.

"You're all…mutants?" I asked. He nodded.

"Yeah. We all came here to learn how to control our powers. That there-" He pointed to the guy sitting next to Laura, "Is Alex, he shoots stuff with his hands." The boy in question grinned, inclining his head in acknowledgement. Bobby continued, gesturing to two other girls.

"That's Amara, she creates and controls fire. And that's Jubilee, my girlf-" The Asian girl interrupted him.

"When are you going get it, Bobby? I am _not_ your girlfriend!" she retorted, then turned to me. "I create fireworks." She let a few brightly-coloured sparkles jump around her fingers, then disappear. I nodded, trying to think of the correct phrase to use.

"Um…Cool?" She laughed, and then pointed to a tanned boy.

"That's Roberto. He uses sunlight to make himself super strong. Ray-" An older guy with spiky orange hair raised a hand. "Shoots bolts of electricity. And lastly," she motioned to the un-introduced blond, who was watching me with an odd look on his face. "That's Sam. He breaks things." She sniggered. He snapped back to the real world, shooting the girl a look.

"Not on purpose." He argued, his accent laced with a slight southern twang. "I just use my powers to propel myself, but sometimes my aim's a little…off." He explained, still wearing that funny expression.

I accepted a plate of food from Jamie, asking him what his power was.

"I multiply." He informed me, proving the point by duplicating himself, then drawing the copy back. "And Rahne transforms into a wolf."

I surveyed the table, trying to exhibit normal behaviour in order to blend in. However, I noticed that whenever I talked to any of the boys, my attitude, without any input from me, changed completely, resembling the tone and behaviour Calypso had displayed when talking to the people she was trying to charm. _Was this part of my training?_ The Professor had not mentioned what methods apart from my powers Hydra had wanted me to use in order to complete missions. Could this be part of it?

I decided not to worry. In any case, it would help me make allies with the male population of the institute.

"Are there any more students?" I asked, delicately spearing a piece of pasta. Laura nodded, popping her claws in order to spear one of the apples sitting in a fruit bowl in the middle of the table.

"We're all just the New Recruits. The older students, called the X-Men, they're doing a training session at the moment. You'll meet them later."

"My older brother's one of them." Supplied Alex, reaching over to grab himself some fruit. "Scott. He has the same kind of powers as me, but his blasts come from his eyes. We were in a plane crash when we were younger, but he got injured and can't control it, so he has to wear these red sunglasses all the time." I stored the information in a safe corner of my mind. It was always good to know as much information as possible about potential allies, or potential enemies for that matter.

When everyone had finished eating, and we'd put our plates away, Laura took me aside.

"Do you feel like doing some exercise?" she asked, a mischievous look on her face. I tilted my head, slightly confused.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, we have this training area called the Danger Room, the older kids should have finished by now, and we can go and do some fighting. I know I need to." She commented, stretching out her limbs. I considered. It _would_ be a good idea to keep my skills honed.

"Sure. Are these clothes suitable?" I asked, fingering the black material. She thought about it.

"We're around the same size, so I'll lend you a uniform. You haven't got any clothes yet, so if those got ripped, you're out of options. Here, follow me to my room; we can pick it up on the way." I walked behind her once again, mentally memorizing the layout of the mansion for later use.

When we'd changed, she showed me a large metal door with an X on it. I was wearing the same uniform as her, black figure-hugging material with X's on the shoulders.

After a few minutes the door slid open, and we walked inside. I looked upwards to see Wolverine through the glass windows of an observation area.

"We're doing a quick combat session. You don't have to supervise." Laura called up. He leaned back into his chair.

"I'll watch." He said simply, his gaze intent. Laura nodded, and crouched into a fighting stance.

"Give us a signal." She shouted. Though I, of course, had no feelings on the matter, I knew it would be a good personal test. After three months in a coma, I wasn't on top form.

A red light flashed, and we began.

_Sorry that was a bit boring, I just wanted to get the basic introductions, etc, out of the way._


	5. Blending In

_Sam's Point Of View_

I didn't understand what the others saw in her- sure, she was pretty, no, stunning, but there was something about her I couldn't quite put my finger on. Something that was cold, fake.

It became clearer when I asked Alex what he knew about her.

"Dude, she's one of those Hydra girls, like Laura."

"A clone?" It seemed unlikely.

"Yeah, of that woman that came with her."

The woman in question had not emerged from her room since she'd been escorted there by Logan last night. So, after us New Recruits had eaten and I was about to leave, the older team entered and made me bring some lunch up to her. It didn't take long to find her room, and I knocked onto the door.

"Miss Richards?" After a few seconds, I heard a muffled, "Come in…"

She smiled when she saw me, and I walked in, setting the tray down beside where she was sitting, typing something on one of the institute-given laptops.

"Thank you." She said gratefully, and I noticed a slight upper-class vibe about her voice. I stood in silence for a few seconds, but then could help but blurt out,

"So Callie's your clone." She sighed, but didn't seem upset by my question, rubbing her forehead tiredly.

"I forgot how fast news spreads in a school environment, especially when it's supposed to be secret."

"I'm sorry, I didn't know I wasn't supposed to know." I added hurriedly, not wanting to seem rude. She just smiled.

"It's no problem. Callie knows, so I don't think there's any harm in the rest of the students knowing. You _are _going to have to live with us for a while."

"I hope you don't mind me asking," I enquired cautiously, "But, she seems a little…"

"Cold?" She supplied. I frowned.

"Around the girls, yes… But when's she's with the guys, she kind of…changes." She sighed again, putting her face into her hands.

"I was afraid they'd done something like this." Seeing my confused expression, she clarified. "At Hydra, they were training her to infiltrate organizations by…seducing…the men in charge. Even though she was mind wiped by them, those habits must still remain."

_Was that what she was unconsciously trying to do?_ I wondered.

"Does she have powers?" was what I asked. She nodded.

"The same as mine- only hers are currently inactivated. We can manipulate people's emotions. She also has a healing factor." She must have realized how much she'd told me, because then she looked up, her eyes pleading.

"Please don't tell anyone what I've told you. She doesn't know what they made her to do, you see. And some advice- she cannot feel emotion. Do not take any offer of friendship or… other relationship seriously until the Professor has unlocked that section of her mind. I don't mean to say that you shouldn't be nice to her," she added hastily. "Please do. I would appreciate it." She added quietly, looking down. When she turned her face upwards, she spoke again. "Can I trust you?"

"Sure." I nodded, struck by how different she was from Callie. "Hope you enjoy your lunch, Miss Richards." She grinned.

"Please, call me Calypso. I don't feel like Titania Richards anymore- I haven't been given that name for sixteen years."

"I'm Sam." I offered. "Cannonball." She gestured to her tray.

"Thank you, Sam. I'll probably come down for dinner, so I'll bring my tray down then." I took that as my cue to leave.

Upon leaving the room, I turned and literally bumped into Callie.

"Oops." She giggled. _Giggled_. I'd never once seen Laura giggle- it was rare at first to even see her smile. So I just stood there, awkward and confused. She must have noticed, because she kept on talking.

"So, what have you been doing?" she asked, curling a strand of blonde hair around one finger, drawing to my attention that she was wearing a classic New Mutant suit.

"I just brought lunch to your…um…" I realized my mistake, finishing off with a lame, "er…Calypso."

Was the spark of anger I saw flash across her eyes a figment of my imagination? It was hard to tell, because a moment later she spoke again, her voice as saccharine as ever, the spite in her eyes gone.

"That's so _sweet_ of you!" she said, looking up at me from under lowered eyelashes. I didn't know whether to feel disgusted or to pity her. Whatever stunts she could pull on the other guys, they wouldn't work with me.

"Not really." I replied indifferently. "Listen, I have to go now. See you later." And I turned and walked away.

_Calliope_

I narrowed my eyes at him as he left. Somehow, he was resisting. As far as I knew, my powers hadn't returned, and I couldn't get to him that way…

I spun around, cradling my head. Why was I doing this? Why did I feel the _need_ to do it?

It was if there were two sides to my personality, one taking over whenever I was around someone male, still cold and calculating, but with completely different behaviour on the outside. I _giggled_- when would I ever normally even _contemplate_ doing such a thing?

Hearing footsteps, I instantly straightened, changing back into my usual collected self. It was a petite brunette girl, blue eyed and smiling.

"Hi!" she said, walking up to me. "You must be the new student."

"I'm Callie." I replied, "And at the present time, I have no intention of becoming a student."

"Oh." She seemed flustered, but then perked up again. "I'm Kitty."

"Nice to meet you." I said blandly, my tone polite but emotionless. This seemed to confuse her even more, but she carried on talking.

"Are you coming down to watch the movie in around half an hour? We usually watch a movie on a Sunday afternoon." It was a Sunday, then- that was good to know, seeing as I hadn't actually found out the present year, month or day of the week.

Watching a movie would probably introduce me to more students, and help me to form bonds with them. Besides, it would be a good way to learn how to fit in.

"That would be nice." I feigned happiness, but Kitty didn't seem to notice.

"Great. We're watching _Catwoman_." She informed me, carrying on to wherever she was going. I went to my room to change- Laura, upon seeing the mud around the bottoms of my leggings, had leant me some of her clothes until I could get some of my own. I pulled on a pair of loose fitting jeans and a black top, paying attention to my appearance. A few minutes later I walked down to the 'rec. room' to find many of the students sitting in front of the TV, Laura sitting next to Alex.

I might have, given the capacity, felt a stab of envy at her ability to leave behind her old life and make friends, but I just wondered how she managed to do it. When she saw me, Kitty waved me over.

"Come on, it's just starting!" I went and obediently sat down on a beanbag next to her, quickly getting introduced to the students I hadn't yet met.

Then everyone was quiet, and I took advantage of their occupation to study them. The two oldest pupils called Jean and Scott were clearly the dominant ones, and also clearly had a strong relationship. On Kitty's other side sat a furry blue mutant with pointed ears and tail that was called Kurt. Next to him was another older girl, with white-striped hair, crossed arms and a scowl called Rogue. I made a mental note to try and stay on her good side; it seemed like she would not be a good person to cross.

The movie was not particularly to my taste, so I used the time to think about my options. For the moment, staying here at the institute seemed like the best idea. The training sessions would help me keep sharp, Professor Xavier had promised to help me regain my memories, and it could be entertaining.

After the movie was over, we moved into the dining room for dinner. I was quietly eating when another person entered; Calypso.

This prompted me to stand up, pushing my chair away and keeping my hands on the table. She caught my eye, backing away slightly, and I was aware of the other students' eyes fixed on us.

"Ah, Titania. Please do sit down. Calliope, you too." I unwillingly obeyed, tucking my chair in and resuming eating, acting as if nothing had happened.

Secretly, I was angry. I had asked her in that alleyway if there was anything else I should know; she had said there wasn't. She had lied to me. That made my wish to cause her bodily harm all the more intense. She may not have been responsible for any of the things that had made me the person I was, but withholding information from me when I most needed it was almost as bad.

I ate the rest of my meal in silence, until Logan spoke up.

"That was a great session you and Laura did today, kid." I looked up, startled- I hadn't expected praise.

"It was nothing." I murmured modestly. Laura punched me in the arm, causing me to spin around at her, and realize she had meant it in a non-threatening way.

"It wasn't." She informed me. "I haven't had such a workout for months. You're going to whip us into shape, that's for sure." I allowed a polite smile to form on my face- isn't that what you were supposed to do when you received praise?

"Thank you." I said. "How often do training sessions take place?" This question was directed at the burly instructor, who grinned wolfishly.

"As often as you like, kid. At least every other morning and alternate afternoons. We have them more frequently on weekends."

"Ah, yes, that reminds me," interrupted the Professor. "On weekdays all of the children, except Laura, attend the local high school. Laura is home schooled because her education-"

"As you keep reminding me!" she muttered under her breath.

"-is very diverse. For example, her knowledge of maths, sciences and computer sciences is extensive, but her skill in areas such as humanities is less impressive. If you stay here, and we deem it necessary, you will have to attend school. Do you have any objections to that?" I shook my head.

"No, Professor." I said quietly. He continued.

"In that case, please see me in my office after dinner. I will give you a short paper to assess your skills in all areas. I don't think you require a physical education exam after this afternoon's session." The light-hearted joke made me plaster a smile across my face.

"I will." He nodded.

"We can work on the things we discussed this morning after you sit the paper." He added.

"That would be great." I replied gratefully. He turned his attention to Calypso, who had been sitting silently at her place, eating a few bites of food but otherwise motionless.

"Are you planning on staying here with us, Titania?" Her head snapped up when she heard her name.

"Please, call me Calypso." He inclined his head.

"As you wish." She carried on after he had finished speaking.

"I think I will. After all, I have no family, and any money I might have been left has probably been disposed of by now. I would eventually like to train for a job, and restart my life, but until then, I see no reason not to stay."

I had my eyes trained on her as she spoke. To anyone looking on, it might seem like an inquisitive stare, but I knew that she interpreted it as I meant for it to be seen: as a warning.

_Okay, sorry about Sam's character being really not very good, I'll work on it, tips accepted!_

_I will post another chapter either a) every 3 days or b) every time I get a review. So if you want chapters, please REVIEW! I'd like to know what i'm doing wrong..._

_Allyg1990_


	6. Shopping!

_Calypso_

I stayed out of the way for the next few days, finding out Calliope's plans before venturing out of my room so I wouldn't have to encounter her. That didn't mean that I had no idea how she was doing- the Professor informed me of her little achievements: scoring full marks on her assessment test; beating someone at a handspring competition; unlocking a few more memories; things a mother might have been proud of.

I wasn't her mother. She was a clone. But she was _my_ clone, and it hurt that she had to restrain herself from maiming me.

It helped when Ororo Munroe, another instructor and the only person who was even near my age, asked me if I wanted to have a coffee with her one afternoon. I gratefully accepted; it would be nice to get out of the house.

Forgoing the traditional Starbucks for a quaint coffee shop on the other side of Bayville, it was a relief to shrug off my coat. It was warm inside, unlike the cold springtime weather outside the glass doors. I'd found out shortly after arriving that it was the beginning of February.

_Not long until I turn thirty four. I'm getting old._ I thought wryly.

We took a seat by the fire, and soon a young waitress brought us each a mug of coffee. After a few minutes she spoke.

"It must be hard, not having a family to go back to." I stared down at my coffee, watching the foamy swirls rotate.

"I never really had a family. My parents were always too busy to pay me much attention, and I was an only child. Now the only person that I have left would much rather make mincemeat of me than be civil." She smiled sympathetically.

"If anyone can get through to her, it is the Professor." She assured me, delicately sipping her coffee. "He has helped us all- the students, Logan and I. She will come round eventually."

"That's good to know." There was another silence, though it wasn't at all uncomfortable.

"So do you know what she's up to today?" I enquired. She grinned.

"I believe that Kitty is picking her up from the mansion after she finishes with school to go shopping. Rest assured that she will come back with more than enough clothing, accessories and makeup to last for several lifetimes, especially since the Professor gave her his credit card." She commented wryly.

The topic of conversation slowly turned to my future plans.

"I'd really like to do something with my life." I admitted. "Before I was kidnapped, I didn't have much of a purpose in life- I'm afraid to say that I was a fairly spoilt and self-centred child."

"You could always stay and be a part of our team." She offered. "Do some teaching."

"What would I teach?" I sighed. "Spying 101? Either Laura or Calliope would be much better equipped to teach that than me."

"How is your knowledge of foreign languages?" she asked. I shrugged.

"I took French at school- my parents thought it necessary for me to be able to communicate with their friends when we went skiing in Europe. At Hydra I became fairly fluent in Russian and Mandarin too, though I can't say I ever had to use either skill." She turned a palm upwards in a graceful gesture.

"There you have it. It would be good for the students to learn an extra language other than Spanish- In the future it is likely that they will have to travel around the world, and knowing enough to communicate cannot hurt."

When we'd finished our beverages, I turned to her.

"Thank you. It was nice to finally have someone to talk to." She smiled.

"Thank _you_. Logan and the Professor are the only adults I ever make contact with. Charles' way of amusing himself is tracking down mutants using his computer, Cerebro, and Logan just sits on the roof with several cans of beer and a cigar. It is always a welcome opportunity to have someone interesting to talk to."

_Calliope_

If Kitty always shopped so rigorously, it was no wonder that she was slim. Darting from shop to shop was tiring, even for me, and with those high-heeled shoes she wore to enhance her height, it must have been even more strenuous for her.

I decided to purchase a mixed wardrobe of girlish clothes and more comfortable attire. Kitty was happy to help. When we were done, I had a full six large plastic bags of clothing, and Kitty had another bagful of matching accessories.

"It's nice when the Professor gives us his credit card." She remarked cheerfully. "You don't have to worry about how much you're buying, or what shop you walk into. The professor rarely gives me free rein these days, ever since he let me use the card without a limit on my birthday and I bought a new wardrobe full of Abercrombie." I shook my head, and she defensively added, "It was on sale!"

She relentlessly continued, barely pausing to take a breath. "Luckily my powers mean I don't damage things that often, so I have more of my allowance to spend on clothes and stuff. Poor Sam!" she giggled. "He keeps making holes in things- brick walls, gardens, you name it. At least he's a boy. I don't think they buy new clothes until they're falling apart at the seams." She shuddered.

"That's unhygienic." I noted. She nodded furiously.

"Totally. I guess we're lucky _Toad_ isn't an X-Man. That boy stinks like fetid cheese." I wrinkled my nose in confusion.

"Who is this…Toad?" She started to explain.

"We X-Men are the good guys, but there are two other groups that aren't as nice. One's the Brotherhood; they're about our age, but the woman who leads them is Mystique- she's a shape shifter, and she's also Kurt and Rogue's mom." Seeing my look, she assured me, "You do _not_ want to know. It's like, way too complicated. Toad's this guy who is basically a human toad, with a super stretchy tongue and stuff like that. My boyfriend's in the brotherhood." She added. I looked at her, shocked.

"But surely that's a bad thing." I insisted. "Unless you're trying to learn their secrets…?" she laughed.

"Gosh, no. The brotherhood's secrets would probably just make me nauseous. It's not exactly the best arrangement- Scott especially hates his guts. But Lance- he even joined the X men for me. It didn't work out, of course, but it was so sweet of him." Her voice was dreamy- I was sceptical. There was no way that someone would join the enemy purely for love, was there? In any case, until the Professor unlocked that part of my mind, I wouldn't find out.

"Who are the other enemies?"

"Magneto and his cronies." She said darkly. "He's a nutcase who wears a bucket on his head. His sole desire is for mutants to be the ruling race. Luckily everyone's on better terms since Apocalypse." They'd since explained the whole incident with the ancient mutant. She snorted. "I doubt it'll last though. Magneto's too crazy to keep the peace for long." We arrived at the car, opening the doors and dumping the bags in the backseat. Kitty's driving was far from perfect, or even safe, but with my adamantium skeleton and healing factor, I wasn't worried about getting injured.

"What about his 'cronies'?" I asked, eager for more information. She considered this.

"Well," she spoke thoughtfully, ticking them off on her fingers as she went along. "Sabretooth's still with Magneto, Colossus found his family and went back to Russia, Pyro joined the Brotherhood, and Gambit… No-one's seen him since he kidnapped Rogue and went off with his father after we rescued her." She started up the car, which roared into life, skidding around the corner and throwing me flat against a window. She looked up apologetically. "Sorry about that." I rubbed my head.

"It doesn't matter." I muttered as my bruise instantly healed.

Fifteen minutes, six knocked over trashcans, one smashed headlight, and having phased through a truck and two people, we arrived back at the mansion.

"Well… you can't say it was a boring ride." Pointed out Kitty. I was still recovering from the shock.

I was soon pepped up by a late danger room session while the other students were doing homework. After I'd passed my assessment test with flying colours, the Professor had decided that I would be home schooled. Dr. McCoy was currently doing a course with me and Laura on genetics, which we were both interested in because of being clones ourselves.

The last couple of days had seen my skills sharpened considerably, and even though I didn't have adamantium claws like Laura, I got by. Eventually I was given my weapon of choice, a short adamantium dagger that fitted snugly into a pocket on a strap on my upper thigh. I was, however, under strict orders not to use it except in danger room on robots or, as time went by, on a mission- they didn't want any punctured organs.

I was sorry for that the next morning, when I was alone in the kitchen before anyone else was up. In slid a tall man with brown, bowl-cut hair, curious red on black eyes, wearing a long trench coat. I immediately jumped away from the table, landing in front of him, my knife to his throat. His eyes widened but he had enough sense to keep still, though I wouldn't have done more than threaten him in any case.

"You got dis all wrong, Remy ain't an intruder…" He was interrupted by Rogue sidling in and looking him over.

"Well, look at what tha cat dragged in." she drawled, the words dripping from her lips. I turned to her, one eye still trained on the man.

"You know this guy?" I asked. She nodded.

"That Cajun you're holding against a wall is Gambit, one of Magneto's old henchmen." So the mystery of where Gambit went was solved! He smoothly tried to escape, and with any other person might have succeeded. I just twisted one arm behind him, my knife still touching his skin.

"Ah wouldn't trah that if I were ya." Rogue warned him, lazily helping herself to a cup of coffee. "She's another one of them Hydra clones." His eyes widened further.

"_Mon dieu._" He muttered.

"_Ce n'est pas un problème_" I replied smoothly, before thinking, _I can speak French? _He grinned up at me.

"Now why don't ya let me go so I can explain why I'm here?" I looked at Rogue, who gave an unwilling nod, and took the knife away, strapping it back where it belonged. The older girl crossed her arms in front of her.

"Start explaining, swamp rat." He shifted uncomfortably on the spot, finally taking a seat and leaning back against a wall.

"Well," he started. "After ya left me in Louisiana, I figured out once again that me and my _pere_ don't get along too well. So eventually I made my way up here. The Professor of yours let me in last night. I'm joining the X-Men."

I don't know if it was his words that triggered what came next. I was staring intently at him, wondering what his motives were when suddenly I saw that familiar strand of light, this time golden, reach from my temples to touch his. And I was swamped with knowledge, the pain from this initial contact receding as I consciously pulled away. My powers- they were back!

Rogue rushed over, helping me up from where I'd collapsed on the ground.

"What did ya do, Swamp Rat?"

"I didn't do nothing!" He insisted, holding up his hands in defense. I rubbed my head, sitting back down in my chair.

"My powers came back." I croaked. "I accidentally tried to use them on him, but I got mentally fried." Rogue shot the man a glare.

"That's cause Gambit here has the power to…blow things up. Ah'm assuming this has something to do with that?" She asked him. He nodded carefully.

"My kinetic electricity makes a kind of static that stops me being probed telepathically." I smiled, though it wasn't out of happiness or anything like that.

"Not quite. I managed to get some information out of that." I tapped my head. "Just a few of your greatest fears, oh, and your deepest desires." His face paled. My smile widened. "Don't worry about it, I'm not telling anyone. Not unless I have to." I added. He relaxed a little, then spoke up.

"How did ya get past my shields?" he demanded. I shrugged, and then came up with a theory.

"Well, _Gambit_, I see from what I found out that you're quite the ladies man." Rogue started scowling, and I smirked, suspecting that I knew why. "My powers are the manipulation of emotions and such. I've seen…someone…with the same powers as me use them as a form of seduction. Could be that you got a little tap of that aspect of my powers, coercing you to let down your shields." He shuddered visibly.

"Don't do that again." He warned. "The thought of getting seduced by a, what, fourteen year old ain't pleasant."

"Close enough." I mused. "I'm fifteen. And I won't try it again- not unless there's something in it for me." I added as an afterthought. His frown deepened, and I strolled out, leaving Rogue to berate him some more. After all, I had some powers to explore.

_That's it for this chapter. Please, guys, take the time to review, it's Christmas after all! It makes me happy…_

_allyg1990_


	7. Memories Unlocked

"Well," Said the Professor, after watching me do a display. Roberto had offered to be my guinea pig, much to Rahne's annoyance- that must have been the source of the glares she kept shooting me that week. "Your control seems to be excellent, though I'm not surprised. However, your powers are still developing, so your capabilities may far exceed what you exhibited today." I'd managed, with little effort, to manipulate Roberto into first falling head over heels in love with me, then to being outrageously angry, scared, and happy. He had been uncomfortable about the desires and fears thing, but the Professor hadn't pushed him. I had a sneaking suspicion they might have had to do with a certain redheaded Scot…

The professor interrupted my musings. "Do you think that, now you're here, you would like to take the opportunity to do some emotion unlocking?" I sighed.

"Fine." And I sat down in that familiar velvet-covered chair, and he wheeled around and put his fingers on my temples.

"Clear your mind." He instructed, and I obeyed, letting my thoughts disappear. Then the probing began, the gentle tapping around my mind, trying to let my capability to feel emotion free. This usually inadvertently released some memories, and today was no different.

A few flashes flew through my mind. Mostly just physical training, one or two flashes of a conversation about mythology and philosophy.

Then one memory that was more disturbing.

"_The aim of your missions has been explained to you before- but I will tell you again. Most businesses worth stealing information from are run by men. A man's greatest weakness is, most of the time, an exceptionally beautiful woman." A sneer. "And we have certainly made you beautiful enough. When mutants are discovered, using your powers to achieve your aims will be more difficult. From now on you will be trained to accomplish your goals using…cruder…methods."_

_Then came what they were teaching me. How to seduce people. Those little touches, slight glimpses of smooth bare skin, how to leave them hungry for more. And they couldn't risk wasting all that time and effort to leave their subject as a sloppy kisser, amongst other things._

_It was all revealed; the youthful innocence I should have possessed, the right to proceed slowly through these kinds of things with someone you cared for, was brutally stolen away from me by the age of twelve and a half._

My desire for revenge grew, fuelled by the fact that I didn't know half of what had been done to me- just little snippets. But who was there to take revenge on, now that Hydra was 'destroyed'? Though, as Laura had mentioned darkly, Hydra was as slippery as the mythical beast it was named after- cut one head off and two more grow back in its place. And I wasn't quite sure that Laura had burnt the stumps thoroughly enough.

The Professor drew back, a sheen of sweat glazing his forehead. I knew that he'd seen what I'd seen, that he knew what I knew.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that." He said quietly. I shook my head.

"You are probably the person who would least need to apologize. You have been nothing but good to me." We sat silent for a few minutes, both thinking hard. Then I stood up abruptly.

"I must go now." He nodded, and I walked out, going away to think.

When I at last ventured out it was Laura I sought and found.

"Laura," I asked cautiously. "If Hydra was still running, where could I find them?" Her eyes flashed angrily.

"I destroyed Hydra." She said simply. I nodded.

"I know. But I need to know this as well." She was quiet for a few moments.

"You know more of what they did to you." She realized. I didn't move.

"You got your revenge on them; if there's a single person out there still alive, I need to get mine." She put a hand on my shoulder.

"I've changed." She stated softly. "I know now that killing isn't the way to do it. The greatest revenge is breaking free of what they've done and leaving the past behind." I shrugged her hand away, not showing any opinion. My voice was dull, bland.

"That's one thing I don't think I'll ever be able to do." I turned on my heel and walked away.

_Sam's Point of View_

I had promised Calypso to be nice to Callie; a Guthrie never backed out on his word. And I _was_ nice to her, smiling, talking, but still largely ignoring her constant advances. After all, it wasn't like she could control it, could she…?

When her powers returned I was outwardly no less friendly, but much more cautious. Any flicker of care towards her, any attraction, it was because she was manipulating me. And I was determined not to let that happened.

I went as far as to ask _her_ to help me with my math homework- it was usually Laura who solved my Algebraic equations for me. But it seemed like the right thing to do at the time, especially since she was liable to go and wear herself out with Laura in a good two hours of danger room.

She taught us a lot, even Wolverine. You never noticed her until she suddenly appeared behind you, her knife to your neck, hissing in your ear to give up now or get hurt. Us New Recruits never hesitated to make fun of Gambit, the newest member and current charmer of the household, about the time she managed to outwit even him, but when it happened to us, it was less funny.

There was something strange about someone so seemingly feminine telling you to give up or die- it must have been something to do with her unnaturally red lips caressing your ear, her warm breath tickling your cheek, and a few stray waves of bright hair falling across your face. Or maybe it was the position she took, one hand securing your arm in place, the other holding the knife to your tender skin, pressed against your back to make sure you could no more squirm than comment on Laura's figure without getting a beating.

But that was where we were, in my room, side by side seated at my desk, her lips to my ear now explaining the intricacies of mathematics. And when the last of the equations was finished off, we started to talk.

It was mainly me who spoke; about my family, my childhood, my favorite little sister. About life in general; the prejudice against mutants at school, how many walls I'd accidentally pulverized that week, the secret behind Ray's hairstyle.

Then she spoke at last, only when I carefully brought up the topic.

"I got another memory last week. A big chunk." She said quietly, as if she almost didn't want me to be hearing this. "It was about my training." I leant towards her on my chair, propping myself up by my elbows, staring thoughtfully across the room at where she was sitting perched on the end of my bed.

"What did they train you to do?" Her eyes softened, big blue orbs gazing towards me.

"You really want to know?" She asked quietly, as if she was amazed that anyone could care. I didn't fall for it, but smiled at her.

"Yeah. I do." She stood up slowly, walking towards me with a certain sway to her hips, the figure hugging outfit she was wearing emphasizing her perfect body. When she stopped, it was mere inches away from me, one hand with its red painted nails reaching out to run along my jawbone. Whatever I had convinced myself to think about her charms, the blood now pounding through my veins and the audible thud of my heartbeat couldn't be figments of my imagination.

The hand on my jaw curved to slide under my chin and lift it up, so my eyes connected to hers, inquisitive and seductive. Then those swollen red lips made contact with mine, and before I could think rationally about it, I was kissing her back, only vaguely aware of the fact that she was straddling me as my hands wrapped around her waist, one soon drifting upwards to her hair and one venturing towards the hem of her skirt.

Nothing had ever felt like this before, and when she finally pulled away and uttered those crushing words I felt blank and empty.

"That's what."

Then she slid away, walking out of the door, out of my life. They had trained her well; not once had I felt the slightest tap of her powers only noticeable to those who'd suffered as many psychic attacks as I had- she hadn't needed to use them. There was no loss of sensation, nothing to suggest that the chemistry hadn't been real. But I had seen those cold, emotionless eyes bore into me as she spoke, and then I finally realized what I'd tried to so long to prevent had caught up with me: I had joined the ranks of those who were in love with Callie. And she was the one girl who could never love me back.

_Oooh… A bit weird I know but it had to happen. The reference to having to cut off a Hydra's heads and burn them was from Hercules. _

_allyg1990_


	8. How to Feel

_Calliope_

I wouldn't say that after that incident I was avoiding Sam… it was much more likely that he was avoiding me. He never made deliberate eye contact anymore, though once or twice I saw him staring, his facial expression a mirror of mine- unfeeling. Sometimes I caught a spark of something I couldn't quite decipher. It was confusing.

It might have scared me, what I'd done; but once again, my training had taken over before I could have stopped it, and I did nothing to rein myself in- quite the contrary.

Laura noticed this separation between us.

"What's with you and Sam? You were starting to get along really well." I shrugged.

"Ask _him_. I'm not the one avoiding him, he's avoiding me." She didn't press the topic further, and I didn't elaborate.

The next time we were face to face again was during a particularly interesting danger room session.

We had been paired off to have fights until one person surrendered. I was with Sam.

Wolverine started the session off, tactlessly saying, "Eliminate your opponent."

_Eliminate… Destroy…Kill…_ The words flashed through my brain and I rocketed towards him, Sam only just escaping by cannonballing up to the ceiling. He fell back to the ground shortly afterwards, aiming for me, but just made a dent in the danger room floor for his efforts; I was too fast.

Finally, in a last attempt to evade me, he shot towards the place where I was standing, unwittingly giving me enough time to move out of the way. He rebounded off the hard wall, coming to a crushing halt right before my feet. Quick as I could, my knife was out, raised above his chest.

_Kill him… You are too weak…One more life_… The voices echoed through my head, trying to make me carry it out, their tones coaxing me to do what I thought was wrong.

_Callie… Don't do it! _Logan's frantic voice as he clawed himself out of the control room.

I struggled with myself, the silver metal drawing closer, closer to his body, as the conscience I didn't know I had wrestled with the ingrained need to draw blood, to obey orders, however foolishly worded.

Then, subconsciously trying to tip the scale in either direction, my powers flared up, seeking out his deepest desire-

For me to love him back?

He _loved_ me? All because of that meaningless kiss?

I was worthy of being loved? Under being a tool, a weapon, a spy, was there a hidden person?

With one last desperate wrench of pain, the years of seclusion lost their effect, as the knife dropped harmlessly onto the ground, my slim frame collapsing in tears over Sam's body. He slowly, hesitantly put his arms around me, cradling me as it all clicked.

I lost my humanity by taking a life.

How ironic that sparing one was the way I got it back.

_Sam's POV_

For a few seconds my heart stopped as she brandished that knife, its tip barely scraping my costume. Her eyes were as cold as ever, her face set with determination. It was clear; I would be killed by the girl I loved.

Then the knife dropped, her expression dissolving into tears as she buried her face in my chest, salty liquid dripping through the spandex of my suit. I hesitantly put my arms around her, pulling her close to me as the sobs wracked her petite frame. Then it hit me.

She was crying. She was upset. She could feel emotion!

My heart soared. She could love me! She _would_ love me! The trained spy was letting me hold her-

I stopped before I got too far ahead of myself.

_Stop it, Sam._ I thought. _What makes you think she's going to love _youSo I just held her tighter, unaware of the fact that Logan was staring, his face utterly bewildered. He cleared his throat.

"Uh… I'll keep the door open, leave when you're finished…" She straightened up, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Sorry." She sniffed, and then her face lit up. "I have _feelings_." She breathed in wonder, turning her face towards me. "Thanks." She grinned, and I knew it was the first genuine smile she'd given anyone in years. And it was _me_ she was giving it to. That meant more than anything she could have done.

Logan had long since backed away and disappeared, with a look on his face that on any other man would be called 'scared'. We stood up together, just standing there, her hands still linked with mine.

"Sam, I…" She trailed off, and I knew what she wanted to say. I put a finger on her lips, silencing her.

"Shh… It doesn't matter…" And once again her head rested on my chest, and I cradled her in my arms. Then she lifted her head, tentatively looking up at me, until I felt a sudden urge to press my lips to hers. She didn't resist, only stretching up a little to return the favor.

When we pulled apart, she was smiling. _That's a good sign._ I thought hazily, kind of swamped by recent events.

"You want to do this again sometime?" she asked softly, a teasing note flickering at the edge of her voice. I grinned.

"Any time. Going somewhere on Sunday at six 'o clock?" She shook her head, her smile now shy. "I'll see you then."

"See you later." She said, taking the initiative to walk towards the changing rooms, a slight sway to her hips, her hair falling softly to her back. I could only stand there, staring after her, resisting the urge to punch the air. There was only one word that could describe my life: Perfect.

_Calliope's POV_

Almost as soon as I had changed into my normal clothes, the unfamiliar feeling of euphoria still coursing through my veins, I was on the receiving end of a telepathic message from the professor.

_Calliope? Please come to my study as soon as possible. _I hurried up to the next level, taking the steps two at a time. It felt so good to be able to look at life in a non-calculating way.

When I burst in, the Professor looked up at me, startled by the wide smile decorating my face.

"Ah, there you are. Please, have a seat." I did, sitting up as straight as ever, unable to wipe the grin off my lips. "I was recently informed by Logan about a recent development-" I couldn't contain myself, so interrupted him.

"I have emotions! I can feel! And at the moment I feel _happy_!" I beamed, talking a mile a minute, unaware that I was unnerving the man. However, he started to smile too.

"Wonderful. Well, you won't need any more sessions with me in that respect, though we can continue to search for memories if you wish." I nodded.

"I still want to find out more." I pointed out, and he folded his hands in he familiar gesture.

"May I take this opportunity to ask about your current feelings for Calypso?" My face hardened a little- I still felt the betrayal, though I understood why she had done it.

"I'm not ready to forgive her." I said slowly. "But I want to work on that."

"Excellent. In that case, I think there are a few people who would like to be informed about this." I jumped up, nearly forgetting to thank him for everything before I bounded out of the room.

Laura was the first person I found, and it didn't take me long to explain everything.

"What triggered it?" I would have blushed, but instead clarified nonchalantly. She grinned wickedly, looking a lot more like Wolverine than usual. "See? I told you that you'd get your emotions back. And by way of Sam, too- nice going."

"What about you and Alex?" I commented shrewdly. She shot me a dangerous look.

"That," she intoned, "is none of your business." I just grinned at her.

"Really? I don't get dating tips from a fellow clone?" She swiped at me, mock-angry.

"Alex is _not_ my boyfriend." She denied.

"Really? I just thought it would be weird for you to snuggle up to someone you weren't close to. After all, you are the resident no-nonsense trained weapon." She growled, but I ignored it.

"We haven't been on a date or anything like that." She retorted.

"That's because he's too scared that you _don't_ like him, and if he asks you out you'll carve him up." I explained wisely. Then I skipped away to find other people.

The Alex in question was sitting at the kitchen table, one foot propped on it. He nearly fell off when he saw me come by.

"Oh Ale-e-ex!" I trilled. "Take Laura on a date somewhere, will you? She won't slice you up like a Christmas turkey, I promise." He suddenly looked flustered, running a hand through his long blonde hair.

"Sure, I guess…" he mumbled, and I went on to find someone else.

Unbeknownst to me, Laura walked in a few seconds later.

"What's up with _her_?" he asked, and she knew who he was talking about.

"Oh, she got her emotions back." She explained. He cleared his throat.

"Laura, I know this is sudden and all, but do you want to do something tomorrow night?" He asked cautiously. She just stared, and he put up his hands in self defense as she walked towards him. Instead of the expected pain, all he felt were her little arms hugging him.

"Yes. I do." She replied.

After a few moments, she realized that his face was turning steadily purple, and released him immediately.

"Thanks." He gasped. "That _hurt_." She gave him a playful smack on the head.

"Sorry." She apologized, then added, "Well, you'd better get used to it," sitting down beside him, content for now just to talk.

_There's a bit of AleX23 for you. And some more fluff. How I love fluff. Fluff, glorious fluff! Okay, cutting the fluff rant to a close, hope you're enjoying this, and even if you think I should be jailed for writing it, please click that little button and TELL ME! I really thought that this had more of a plot than my usual stuff, so I was a little disappointed by the lack of feedback. If you review and tell me what to change, I might actually do it!_

_allyg1990_


	9. Firsts

_I just wanted to say, I screwed up Gambit's accent and the whole third person thing in chapter 5, so I'm doing a big fix up here._

I woke up with the sun as usual the next day, having slept little the previous night. I had stayed up late thinking about this new skill, to feel emotion- the part of me that was still a spy was cautious, primarily regarding it as a weakness. Then again, the other half of me reasoned, I was no longer a spy, so why worry?

It was something I was still thinking about as I sat down at the kitchen table, alone with my mug of tea. Herbal, of course- I'd been drilled to forgo caffeine or anything else that messed up how your body worked. Besides, peppermint helped me let go of any stress, to think things over more rationally.

I didn't flinch when what was supposed to be an intimidating presence lurked over my left shoulder.

"Remy heard y' got your feelings back." I turned towards the former thief, flashing a smile.

"I have a feeling you haven't come to congratulate me." He went and sat down across the table, leaning on his elbows and staring me straight in the eyes.

"Forgive Remy if he don't. It's 'bout dose feelings y' got from _moi_." I leant forward myself, staring back just as intently.

"What exactly did you want to ask me?" I asked, my voice interested but otherwise emotionless. He looked down, bringing his hands together, crossed at the thumbs.

"See, we all know 'bout y' and Sam. Now dat you how't feels, Remy wants t' make sure y' understand why it's so important dat y' keep what y' know a secret."

"What exactly is she supposed to be keeping a secret?" Rogue sauntered in, heading straight to the coffee pot. I saw the Cajun wince, then compose himself, his voice drifting back into its usual flirtatious tone.

"Dat's between _moi_ and the spy-kid here." He replied swiftly, indicating me. "But if y' want t' know so badly, _chere…_" She shuddered visibly, though I could tell that it was somewhat forced.

"Ah don't want to know anything about ya personal life, swamp rat." She assured him, resting her weight on one hip, the wrist holding the coffee jar cocked outwards. "All ah want is a decent cup 'o coffee without ya dirtying mah air." At that he stood up, sliding behind her to place his hands on her shoulders.

"Dis any better, _chere?_" he asked pleasantly, but she shrugged him off.

"If ya hadn't noticed, _Gambit_, there's a kid in the room, save your flirting for later." I smirked.

"This is child's play compared to what I've been experienced." I informed her. "So don't hold back on my account." She huffed, picking up the coffee she'd been busy making throughout the conversation and stalking out of the room.

"You've got your work cut out for you." I commented, watching her leave. Gambit sat back down at the table, nodding vigorously.

"Y' got dat right, _p'tit._ Y' got dat right."

The main concern for that day was Alex and Laura's- though she refused to call it that- date. They were going to some favorite pizza place in town, so wardrobe wasn't a problem- unfortunately, she didn't own enough dressy outfits to clothe a snail. Kitty had been banned from trying to help out, which was slightly useless since the phaser kept slipping in and out of Laura's room anyway, a different brightly colored accessory in her hands each time.

"Ooh, what about this purple headband? No, it doesn't really suit you… Maybe orange? Whoa, you don't have to like, bite me or anything. Pink might work… I get it, I'm leaving! Geez, you just don't appreciate my expertise!"

It wasn't really clothing that was the problem- beneath the tough I'll-slice-you

-if-you-get-near-me exterior, the other clone was nervous.

"A year ago, I wouldn't have thought twice about incapacitating anyone who tried to get within a few yards of me. Now I'm expected to be capable of having a…a relationship!" she burst out. I just looked back at her.

"You were the one who told me that overcoming what you'd been trained to do was the greatest revenge." I pointed out. She snarled.

"It's not so easy in real life." She mumbled after a few moments.

"You know, Alex had the guts to ask you out, even though he _knows_ that. He likes you even though you're… well, you. That must count for something." She nodded, smiling slightly.

"When I first got here, he was the only person that didn't step delicately around me." She remembered. "Of course, it was probably because he was the only person I hadn't taken out before." I spread my hands wide.

"There you go. Now stop worrying and get dressed. You can't wear a black ninja outfit _all_ the time, you know." She scowled.

"Look who's talking. You always make sure you wear stuff you can fight in." I glared back.

"Cut me some slack, I bought this wardrobe before I learnt that not everyone is a threat." She stood up, walking over to her closet to get something out.

"I think that calls for another shopping trip with Kitty…" She commented, at which a head poked through one of the walls.

"Someone wants to go shopping with me? Ooh, let's see, I'm free next Wednesday, hmm… this Friday work for you?" I took the liberty of throwing a pillow at the older girl, gritting my teeth.

"Friday is fine."

Laura got back that night looking extremely pleased with herself. Later on, when most of the female population of the institute was crowding into her room to see how it went, she suddenly became very secretive.

"Come on, spill!" Twittered Kitty, practically bouncing off the walls in excitement.

"It isn't very dignified to lead us on and then refuse to say anything." Amara added sternly.

"Fine." Said Laura at last, leaning back in her chair. "It was fine." A groan rose up.

"Details, please!" Yelled out Jubilee from the back of the room.

"It was fun. Especially when all those people started giving us very worried looks when I popped my claws to slice my pizza." Rahne rolled her eyes.

"They don't want _that_ sort of detail. I'll put it bluntly. _Did you get kissed?_" She colored at that.

"That's for me to know and you…never to find out." She replied dryly, shooing us out before we could ask anymore questions.

I was less nervous about my- I wasn't even going to pretend it was something else- date with Sam that Sunday. After all, how hard could it be? I'd spent my entire life being trained to be able to handle men with ease.

_That wasn't so you could build a real relationship_. I reminded myself, quickly dismissing the thought. _It's got to come in handy somehow._

I hadn't the heart to kick Kitty out of my room that afternoon. Besides, she _was_ older and _did _know a thing or two about dress sense.

"How's it going with…" I struggled to remember her boyfriend's name. "…Lance?" She smiled widely.

"Great." She enthused. "We're going somewhere after school tomorrow. He's so sweet; he always offers to drive me back…." She carried on like this for a few minutes, somehow giving me the impression that she was overcompensating for something.

I didn't use my powers to pry- I didn't think she'd appreciate it. Besides, she was bound to tell someone sooner or later.

"So who's that girl Kurt was rambling on about a while ago?" I enquired, changing the subject. Kitty made a face.

"Amanda Sefton. She dumped him a few days back; she couldn't cope with the stress from her parents about dating a mutant. He's still moping." Her face hardened as she explained, making clear her feelings about Amanda.

"Poor Kurt." She nodded sadly.

"He's had a tough life so far. Before he came here, he didn't have like, an image inducer or anything to help him blend him. He copes so well though; I totally admire him for it. He's always so…happy."

"You guys get on well." She grinned.

"At first I was like, totally scared of him." She admitted. "But the fur and the tail kind of grow on you after a while. The whole blue demon look is actually kind of cute." She seemed to realize we were getting sidetracked, pulling out another outfit.

"This top's nice; it works with your hair…"

By six 'o clock, I was completely ready to go. We'd eventually decided on a dark blue long sleeved v-neck t shirt with lace modestly covering a lot of the exposed skin. Since I had no idea what we were doing, a pair of skinny jeans seemed like a safe bet. I hadn't needed any makeup; thankfully, probably due to genetic alterations, my lips were permanently stained crimson, and I doubted that I'd ever have to buy a tube of mascara. My hair was similarly easy to manage- blow dried and left to its own devices, it spread into large, soft ringlets that framed my face. All in all, I was pretty satisfied, and so was Kitty.

"You look totally gorgeous, Sam won't know what hit him!" she exclaimed triumphantly, happy of another fashion victory.

If he was bowled over, he recovered quickly enough to extend a complimentary, "You look nice." I flashed him a winning smile, slipping my arms around one of his as we headed out of the door.

"So, where are we headed?" I asked on our journey towards one of the mansions car. He grinned.

"Nowhere special. Just this place I thought you'd like." He replied modestly.

I _did_ like it. It was a –dare I say cute? - little café near the seaside. Though it was the end of winter, the weather was fairly warm, even with the ocean breeze nipping at the edges of my sleeves, the salty air adding a certain vibrant quality to my cheeks.

I'd been warned beforehand to eat something before, so the vast array of cake didn't disappoint. At the short time I'd been at the institute I'd discovered that I had a particular affinity for angel food cake, especially piled with fruit. It was Sam's turn to shoot me a grin when I saw the puffy golden heights of a particularly delicious-looking one sitting in the glass display case.

"Jean tells me that it's pretty good here." He said innocently, walking towards it. "I'm more of a derby pie kind of guy myself, but this'll do." I took the opportunity to scowl before trailing after him.

Once we were settled down with our respective cakes, (Sam eventually decided on some sort of fudge confection) the talking started.

"How's school going?" I asked, wincing as I realized it was something annoying grandparents usually asked. He didn't seem to mind.

"Not much better than usual." He replied glumly. "At least spring break's coming up soon. **(I have no idea what time it occurs in the US, where I come from it's around mid march and lasts a month, so keep that in mind.)**"

"Two weeks left, right?" He nodded, his features brightening a little.

"Think about it, no school for four long weeks." His eyes misted over just thinking about it. Then he smirked. "You still have to do classes with Beast, don't you?" I glared, folding my arms across my chest.

"Actually, Laura and I don't have to. Not that we actually would take him up on his offer to do voluntary work. Though comparing our genotypes was kind of fun. There are obviously quite a few similarities, what with our healing factors and all." I admitted. He shot me a disgusted look.

"You find complicated science _fun_?" I grinned.

"I was designed to be intellectual, in case they wanted me to seduce a scientist or something." I realized what I'd touched on, and fell silent.

I wasn't entirely…'comfortable' wouldn't be the right word. More that I didn't want to dreg up anger that I couldn't control. It was hard- I knew from Laura how she hadn't been able to contain it, and sometimes it was a strain to keep from taking it out on someone.

Sam reached out to squeeze my hand, noticing the mixed emotions I couldn't keep from trailing across my face.

"Let's not talk about that." He said softly. "Unless you want to, I mean." He added quickly afterwards. I shook my head.

"I don't." I replied, my voice equally soft, reaching out my other hand to grasp his, a small source of comfort in the midst of this slow recovery. "Thanks, anyway." He smiled.

"What's a boyfriend for?" I grinned cheekily.

"Boyfriend, huh? Are you elevating your status?" I teased. He turned red, stumbling over his words.

"I just thought…um…you know…" I interrupted him before he could get any further.

"Can't a clone make a joke these days?" I sighed. "If it'll reassure you, I can make you a badge: _Samuel Guthrie, official boyfriend to Calliope-"_ I stopped, realizing I didn't have a surname.

"That's okay." Sam spoke hastily. "Thanks for the offer, anyway."

"Are you sure?" I asked seriously. "I'm almost positive Kitty has some pretty ribbons somewhere I could stick on." He shuddered.

"I'm fine without the ribbons, thank you very much." I smiled widely.

"You see? I even found a sense of humor."

_Really bad ending I know, but I wanted to start the next chapter. Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays!_

_Keep those reviews coming! That would be a great christmas present... :)_

_Allyg1990_


	10. News

_Calypso_

The day I was informed that Calliope had regained her emotions, I was overjoyed. Maybe now she could find it in her heart to forgive me, to at least accept me as a friend, if not a family member. I was sorely disappointed.

As I soon found out, hate was emotion. Before, her urge to kill me had been pure calculation- I was someone who had failed her, deceived her, and should be eliminated. Now her urge was driven by unadulterated hatred.

It wasn't that she was outwardly spiteful- it was the fact that, despite our relationship, she completely ignored me, our only contact the glares she shot me whenever our eyes met. It hurt to see her so outgoing, so happy with the other children, and unable to behave the same way around me.

I quietly observed her formation of a normal social life- her growing friendships with Laura and Kitty, the blossoming romance evident between her and Sam. I had at first been very wary about her having a boyfriend- just because she was capable of feeling emotion didn't mean that she would choose to give up her manipulative ways. But as the days went past, I felt like a third wheel- someone who didn't belong.

No day differed greatly from another- until the day I was jolted from my incessant typing by a knock on my door.

"Come in!" I called, not surprised to see that it was Ororo.

"Professor Xavier has suggested that you assist Logan and me with one of the outdoor training sessions today with the New Mutants." She informed me. I was slightly taken aback, and then bristled, standing up to face her.

"I see I am to earn my keep." I commented dryly. The former goddess seemed offended.

"If after what he has done, you are of that opinion, you are not half the woman I thought you were." She almost snapped, composing herself before talking again, the tension evident in the slight furrow of her brow. "Calypso, you have holed yourself up in this room for the last five weeks- since you arrived at the institute. The only times you venture out are mealtimes and occasionally to talk to the staff here. You wanted to rebuild your life- this is your chance to start!" I couldn't bear to look her in the eyes, and instead turned my gaze to the floor. She took a breath, seemingly to calm herself.

"Will you at least tell me what you have been doing for the last few weeks? You and that laptop have become inseparable." She noted, smiling slightly. I looked up sadly.

"It seems that the money I was left as inheritance was not all squandered in efforts to find me. When my parents were killed, a few samples of blood and such were taken during their autopsies. I have contacted the firm that was entrusted with the care of that money- Dr McCoy sent them a blood sample from me. They have matched the samples and confirmed that I _am_ Titania Richards, and I have inherited the money left for me. There is no future for me here: I cannot bear to live with Calliope, knowing that she will never feel a bond with me. I am leaving at the end of the week."

The expression on the other woman's face was illegible, even for me. When she spoke it was quietly.

"Does the Professor know?" I shook my head.

"I was planning on telling him this afternoon- I have only just finalized the details. I will be moving back to my old family home. It's only about half an hour's drive from here- not too far away to visit. It would probably be beneficial to come every so often to participate in training session. I don't want to get out of shape." I attempted a joke, failing miserably.

Ororo was silent for quite a while.

"Will you come to this training session? Just as a goodbye to the students?" I laughed bitterly.

"Why? They probably see me as the crazy hermit woman."

"They respect you." She countered softly. "Give the institute a chance." I ignored her plea.

"I can't. Not as long as I see the hatred in the eyes of my own flesh and blood. I tried so hard to make them stop." I told her quietly. "They told me, you know, about everything she was doing. Almost like a report card. I never made contact with her; we passed each other in the corridors, and I was sometimes allowed to watch her training, but we never exchanged a single word. I don't know why I wanted to be close to her; I was only nineteen when she was born. I shouldn't really have cared- maybe a normal person might have feared her." I smiled weakly. "I'll come to that session. But I assure you, it will be my last as a member of this institute."

Storm nodded.

"Meet us outside in half an hour." She said simply, turning on her heel and walking away. Was it disappointment I could sense? I did as she told me to; donning the plain black uniform I'd been given on arrival- the Hydra clothes had been tossed into the incinerator as soon as I could find one. I hated what they symbolized; a life of slavery. I never asked to have powers, and my parents hadn't even known. They hadn't paid much attention to me as a child.

Being the spoilt, selfish teenager I was, I had used them to get my way, making people feel sudden surges of affection for me to put them in a generous mood. When my parents were angry because I'd failed a test, or been caught doing something I shouldn't have, I made them happy again. After Hydra forced me to use them for less petty means, I vowed never to use them again unless absolutely necessary. They weren't very useful, anyway. I had barely drawn on them since coming to the institute- only once or twice as a secret act of kindness to liven up the mood of a sulky teenager or two. It was the only time I had ever seen the one they called Rogue smile.

At the scheduled time I trundled out onto the mansions grounds, and I couldn't help but smile. Spring was in full swing, buds swelling on the tree branches, vibrant green leaves brightening the landscape. When I made it over to the group of students, I saw that they were less than happy about the arrangement.

"We just broke up from school!" whined Jamie.

"Holidays are supposed to be for _resting_." Amara reminded the rest of them. I hid a smile. She was so much like me at that age- princessy attitude and all.

Ororo clapped sharply, commanding the total attention of the little group.

"Calypso is assisting me with the training session today." She told them. "Treat her with as much respect as you would treat Logan or me." A boy with spiked hair I'd come to know as Ray smirked.

"She'll have to earn it first." He whispered to the brunette called Bobby. Quick as a flash, I swept his legs out from under him.

"I could say the same for you." I noted as his face flushed slightly. "I may not be particularly talkative or outgoing, but that doesn't mean I'm deaf or incompetent." I stretched my hand out to pull him up, and he seemed slightly humbled. I wasn't sure about his friend, though; he seemed like trouble, as did the Asian girl standing next to him. Jubilee, I remembered.

As I straightened up, I saw Calliope glaring at me, arms crossed. I looked away, turning my attention to what Ororo was saying.

"You will all run through this course individually; this is not a team exercise. The aim is to avoid the obstacles and to keep the flag you will be given unharmed- _without_ using your powers. Calypso will be standing at the end of the course. You will give your flag to her; she will inspect it to see if it is damaged. If you pass, you may sit down and watch your teammates. If you fail, you must join the queue and start over again. You have three tries today to pass. If you do not, you will have to go through this exercise again tomorrow." A groan rose up from the students.

"But tomorrow's a Sunday!" Complained Jubilee. "Amara and I are going shopping!" Storm looked at them sternly, though her eyes were crinkled at the edges.

"Tell me, child, what is going to be more important in a fight, the skills you will learn today or the brand of clothes you are wearing?" She asked practically. Jubilee pursed her lips, sparks flickering unconsciously at the ends of her fingertips.

"I hate it when she does that." She mumbled.

"What? Makes sense?" Asked Bobby. She elbowed him.

"Just work hard and get through it today." Laura said practically. The firecracker sighed.

"It's not always as easy for the rest of us, you know." She pointed out.

"How do you think Laura and I got as good as we are?" Calliope protested, ignoring me completely. "By admiring Abercrombie models?"

"I think it's genetic." Roberto muttered, his knees pulled up to his chest. It seemed like the Brazilian boy still wasn't used to the colder climate, especially when wearing only a thin spandex suit. Rahne offered him a sweater she'd brought otu

"I don't get as cold as you do." She remarked, an amused look on her face as he snatched the garment and scrabbled to get his arms and head through the appropriate holes as soon as possible.

"Besides, it can't be just genetic. Otherwise you wouldn't have all this muscle." Sam said, poking Calliope's arm. She laughed, poking him back much harder. I felt a sharp twang of pain grip my heart. If only she would feel as comfortable around me.

"It's totally weird when your girlfriend is more muscular than you are." Moaned the younger Summers brother. Laura put a comforting arm around him.

"Poor Alex." She crooned sympathetically. "No amount of surfing could put you in better shape than me." This resulted in the blonde to try and tickle her and fail miserably; the girl was just not ticklish.

Ororo looked up from a list and pointed to Jamie.

"Multiple, you are up first." He obediently got up, dusting off his suit and walking to the far side of the field, where Ororo handed him a flag. On a count of three, little cannons burst from the ground, firing jets of light at the thirteen year old. He made it halfway through the course before being thrown back by a beam. When he stood up, it was clear that his flag had been incinerated. He walked dejectedly back to the group, Rahne trying to console him.

Next Ororo gestured to Calliope, smiling.

"Give the other students a good example, please." She told her as she handed the girl her flag. Calliope nodded, clasping the flag to her chest, before starting to run.

Even without the use of her hands to balance she was superb, flipping, ducking and twisting as if she was suspended in water. She came to the other end quickly, handing her perfectly whole flag to me, her eyes steely. I took it, inspecting the sides.

"Hmm, there's a little speck of mud." I noted, looking to Ororo. "Is that irrelevant?" The older woman gave me an amused smile, nodding. I handed it back to Calliope.

"I guess you've passed." I told her, handing the flag back. Her eyes narrowed as she snatched it.

"Like you could do better." She retorted, her anger clear from her tone of voice. Sam came up behind her, putting his hands lightly on her arms.

"Come on, Callie, let's get back to the others." He soothed. She glared at me again, not shrugging him off. I spoke in a low voice.

"You won't have to worry about me after this weekend." I said quietly. "I'm leaving. I won't make you listen to anything I say, apart from this one last thing: Your birthday is on the fourth of July." I didn't wait to see how she would react- I just turned and walked away, going to pack my bags.

_That's going to be the last chapter from Calypso's POV for a while, so enjoy it while you can. _

_allyg1990_


	11. Beating up the Brotherhood

_She was leaving?_ Her words hit me in a way I never thought they could. My face quickly rearranged itself into an expression of disinterest as she walked away. _Good riddance. She'd just been a constant, painful reminder of her betrayal. She lied to me when I was most in need. She was no friend to me- certainly no mother._

Laura ran through the course next, and when she'd finished Storm let us go in. I think she must have seen the look on my face, slipping through my emotionless mask for once- deep in thought, and slightly confused.

We joined Kurt, who was sitting on the couch watching some program on a band called 'The Beatles'. Slightly strange name if you ask me, but the music was sort of catchy. It drew my mind away from the disconcerting thoughts running through my mind.

_Do I mind that she's leaving?_ A voice in the back of my head asked. _Of course not._ I was quick to remind myself. Then what was this feeling hanging over me like a dark cloud? Nothing I had felt before, that was for certain. I had to smile inwardly at that- I had had precious few weeks to feel anything, and no doubt there were countless strange emotions I had yet to identify.

Was it guilt, like I'd felt when I 'borrowed' Amara's hair tie without asking? Not that she had minded (or found out, for that matter,) but the action still left a tinge of something behind, especially when she asked me if I'd seen it the next morning.

Regret, as if I'd yet again skipped out of the dining room before dessert and later found out that it had been angel food cake?

A mixture of both?

My thoughts were interrupted by Kitty walking in, striding through the rec room on her way to the kitchen, tears silently streaming down her cheeks. When Laura and I, with our sensitive hearing, spun around to see who it was, Kurt saw Kitty and 'ported in front of her, stopping her from pushing past by anchoring his two fingered hands on her shoulders.

"Katzchen, vat's wrong?" he asked, concerned. At this she started sobbing into his shirt, and he hugged his best friend, looking slightly bewildered.

Finally she managed to choke out, "Lance dumped me." Kurt's golden eyes took on an angered glint, and he started muttering in German.

I'd found out soon after arriving at the institute that I understood German nearly as well as my native English, figuring out that what he was saying roughly translated to, '_That pig, I always knew he'd hurt her in the end…" _

I turned to Laura, giving her a sly smile.

"Kitty mentioned that Lance lived at a boarding house close by here. You wouldn't happen to know where it is, would you?" She returned my smile, hers more wolfish.

"It's been a while since I had the chance to completely wipe someone out." She commented as I neatly flipped backwards off the couch, following me out into the corridor. We changed into normal clothes, and had barely made it out of the door when a southern drawl reached our ears.

"Please tell me you're goin' where ah think you're goin'." Rogue was watching us, slouched against a pillar. I looked at Laura, who nodded. Rogue breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. Ah can't tolerate Kitty cryin' in mah room. Makes it difficult to read. Ah'm gonna go nuts if ah don't get outta here soon." She joined us on our expedition, leading the way to the brotherhood boarding house.

We walked there- no need to make anyone notice that we'd gone by taking one of the cars. Besides, both Laura and I could easily walk for miles without getting tired, and Rogue wasn't so bad at it either.

On the way, Rogue and Laura told me more about the brotherhood.

"You said you knew about Toad." Laura began. "There's also Pietro- he just runs really fast, but he's full of himself and pretty easy to distract."

"Blob's just that- a blob. Ah think that's pretty accurate." Rogue continued, turning to Laura for confirmation, who grinned and nodded. "Pyro's an ex-acolyte: he used to work for old bucket head. He can control fire, but can't make it, so if he tries joinin' in just slice the tubes to his flamethrower. He's almost never around though, so I wouldn't worry 'bout it."

"And Lance himself just shakes things." Laura added, as if it was no big deal. I gave her an odd look.

"Just?" She shrugged.

"No big deal. Just spend as much time airborne as you can."

"Well thanks, ah'll be sure to try that." Rogue said sarcastically. "If ya hadn't noticed, ah'm not a bird. Ah'll just put him to sleep, if that's okay with you."

I grinned. "Suits me." I assured her, as we reached the badly built house.

"Ah just hope Mystique isn't home." Rogue muttered darkly. I looked at her.

"Your mom?" She shot me a murderous look.

"Adopted. As far as ah'm concerned, it doesn't count."

Laura didn't bother ringing the doorbell; she smoothly sliced the door off its hinges, stepping through the cloud of dust the hunk of wood created when it hit the floor to stand in the middle of the entrance area, arms akimbo.

Before she could pop her claws once again, a white haired teenager stood in front of her, deftly knocking her to the ground. She glared up at him, quickly knocking his legs from under him before he could react. Then she stood up again, hanging over him.

"Get Lance." She commanded him, and he sped away, not before giving her a mock salute and a bow. A few minutes later another teenage boy the same age stomped down the stairs, standing in front of us with his arms crossed.

"What are you X-Geeks doing here?" He sneered.

"We're gonna beat you up for dumpin' Kitty." Rogue told him bluntly, as Laura punched him flat in the face. He was knocked back by the blow, and propped himself up on his elbows, rubbing his jaw to ease the pain.

"If that's how you want it…" The room began to shake violently, and remembering Laura's advice I leapt into the air, kicking off the wooden banister of a rickety staircase that cracked when I met it, and coming into land on Lance's chest. A stamp of my foot did some damage to his nose, Rogue slipping off her gloves from behind him.

"Sweet dreams, sugah." She said mockingly, ramming her hand down on the broken skin with more force than strictly necessary, obtaining a low groan for her efforts as the bright light that accompanied absorption flashed around her. When she pulled away, Lance lay unconscious on the floor, splayed out on the ground. Laura was behind her to catch the older girl when she stumbled a little from the strain.

"He won't be wakin' up anytime soon." She commented happily as she struggled to stand up straight.

"Those chicks took out Avalanche, yo." The voice was accompanied by a greasy looking boy who was crouched on the floor like a frog. I ducked the gob of green slime that he spat at me, watching with amusement as it went flying onto the face of an enormously fat guy behind me.

"I'm guessing you two are Toad and Blob." I noted casually, watching Blob try to prise the slime off of his face. "Nice to meet you. I'm Calliope, and I'm guessing that the green stuff was an attack. That's a shame, because now I'm going to have to attack you back."

Ignoring the fat boy for the moment, seeing as he was currently blinded, I jumped towards Toad, who expertly hopped out of the way. A gust of air prevented me from reaching my target, but Pietro was soon taken care of by Laura, who easily tripped him up and grabbed the cuff of the costume he was now wearing. Two claws at his throat prevented him from going anywhere.

"Pietro, when are you going to learn?" she asked him piteously, before using the other hand to punch him in the stomach. He doubled over in pain, too occupied to sprint anywhere. "It's not a good idea to pick on girls."

With Pietro down, I was free to pursue the amphibious mutant currently hanging upside down from the ceiling.

"Can't…catch…the…Toad…" he panted, hopping from surface to surface, narrowly evading my lunges. I paused for a moment, watching as Rogue plastered her bare hands on Blob's face, the flashing light distracting Toad so that I could get a hand on him, pulling him over my head and slamming him into the ground.

Without his powers, Blob was felled by a blow from Laura, a smack of her wrist right into his temples. Rogue jumped out of the way as he fell to the ground, avoiding being completely crushed. I offered the semi-unconscious Toad to her, holding him up by one arm.

"Care to do the honors?" She grinned wickedly, seizing the limb and using all of her newfound strength to throw Toad towards the opposite wall, leaving a distinctly shaped hole and the image of a green and white shape hurtling into the air far beyond the fence of the boarding house.

As she dusted her hands off, a smell of sulphur and a thick gas alerted us to Kurt's presence.

"Vhere is he? Vhere is that _schwein__…_" He looked sheepish when he caught sight of the downed members of the Brotherhood lying motionless on the floor. "I see I missed ze party." He commented, giving Lance's head a kick for good measure.

We were interrupted by a clapping noise coming from the stairs. Dodging an electric blue bolt heading my way, I landed behind the dark haired girl dressed in red, my right index finger hovering over a vein that, when pressed, would knock her out quickly and painlessly.

"It's okay, Callie." Called Rogue. "That's Wanda, Pietro's sister. You can let her go." I didn't move.

"Convince me that she won't fire one of those bolts again, and I will." I replied. Wanda raised her hands in surrender.

"I hate those scumbag boys as much as you X-Men do. I'm only living here because my father makes me." She said, and I released her.

"Sorry." I apologized, not meaning it at all, and extending a hand. "I'm Callie." She ignored the outstretched hand, proceeding down the stairs and completely ignoring me.

"Nice job you did with those suckers." She commented, looking over the boys on the floor. "Lance's nose is going to hurt." I had a wild idea at that point.

"Rogue?" I asked. "Do you have any lipstick with you?" She frowned, handing me a tube.

"Yeah. But what do ya…" she trailed off as I opened the tube, extending the purple stick to its full length and bringing it towards Lance's face. When I'd finished, the rock tumbler had 'Loser' tattooed across his forehead. Rogue had to suppress laughter as I handed the tube back to her.

"That's my extra long lastin' one." She noted. "He's going to have a hard time getting that off." Kurt tapped his foot impatiently.

"Ve need to get back to ze mansion before someone realizes ve're gone." He said urgently, and with a wave to Wanda on Rogue's part, we latched onto him, disappearing with a burst of smoke and the familiar smell of sulphur.

_As always, my action is HORRIBLE, so rest assured that I'm aware of this. Any ideas on how to improve would be amazing._

_Please keep on reviewing, it really makes my day. _

_allyg1990_


	12. Trouble

Kurt teleported us into the middle of the main entrance, and after waving away the cloud of smoke, we realized that we were in trouble.

"_Guten__ tag_?" Kurt tried, smiling winningly. Logan was unimpressed.

"That's _guten__abend_ to you, elf. Do you girls know what time it is? You've been out for almost two hours, _without_ permission. Not so much as a note on the fridge to let us know where you were-" I realized that much of this was directed at Rogue, almost a surrogate daughter to Wolverine, and Laura, who identified with him more than any other person alive ever could.

_No parent to worry over me_. I thought bitterly. _I sometimes wonder if anyone would care if I left without notice._

I quickly pushed that thought down. I had Sam, didn't I? The first person to care about me in the span of my relatively short life. I warmed at that, almost oblivious to the instructors ranting. Yes, I had Sam. And that meant more than anything to me.

_Calypso cared._ A nagging voice in the back of my mind argued. _Before you even met Sam. She rescued you, she looked after you during those three long months, she kept you safe-_

My hands flew to my forehead, trying to oppress the traitorous thoughts. I had no place in falling for her schemes, her plans. Thank goodness she was going. Maybe the thoughts would ease up once she was no longer caught in the tangled web that was my life. It would make the strands far easier to separate.

Logan must have noticed the sudden movement, because he looked at me with an odd expression on his face. I schooled my features, stonily gazing ahead to accept whatever punishment was to be doled out. He continued talking, something about extra danger room, laundry duty and-

_Logan? I'll take it from here._ The professor's mental voice interrupted his speech. Wolverine glared at us, pointing an angry finger as he walked away.

"I've got my eye on you four…" he warned, but we ignored that. Since when did he not?

Dutifully we trudged to the Professor's office, leaving Kurt behind- the teleporter had seemingly received silent instruction from Xavier, and had sullenly 'ported away to his room to sulk.

"What's the usual punishment for leaving the premises without permission?" I asked Rogue, wanting to know what awaited me. She winced.

"Once when Kurt was grounded, he left the institute with one of the girls who used to live here- Tabby. He got a couple of weeks worth of cleanin' duty- all the vehicles, uniforms, puke in the simulators, you name it, he had to mop it up." I shuddered visibly. Normally I didn't mind getting dirty, but being surrounded by other people's filth was not my favorite pastime.

Laura took the liberty of knocking, and the door swung open to reveal the Professor sitting calmly at his hardwood desk.

"Ah, Rogue, Laura, Calliope, please sit down." Rogue flopped into a nearby chair, and I politely took a seat, not wanting to aggravate the man into punishing me more than necessary. Laura just leaned back against the wall in such a Logan-like fashion that I half expected her to pop her claws and start inspecting them.

Professor Xavier leaned towards us, hands folded over the bridge of his nose.

"It is important that you learn that the rules we have here at this institute are for your own safety. Leaving the ground without permission could be potentially very dangerous- if you were to get injured or lost, how would we be able to find you?" He was quiet for a few moments, then continued.

"As for your motives in leaving- I am unimpressed. My aim, and therefore your aim as my students is to work towards peace between humans and mutants. How can we ever achieve this if there is no peace between mutants? I will expect you three to extend a formal apology to the brotherhood-" Rogue snorted, and the Professor eyed her sternly. "Before you ask, the apology can take the form of a _handwritten_ letter. Other than that, I will let this incident slide- any repeat offences will result in a much firmer punishment. You may leave." We stood up, muttering our thanks and getting away as soon as possible.

Rogue snickered as we walked down the hallway. "A letter, huh? Ah can guarantee that mine's gonna get lost in the mail."

"What are we supposed to write?" Laura added. "Dear Brotherhood, we apologize for kicking your sorry-"

"That's quite enough." Storm cut in sharply, coming up behind us. "Dinner is on the table. Please be so kind as to join us." We trudged along behind her, Rogue leaving to replace her now dirty gloves with clean ones before she ate.

"I forgot to mention that the Professor shouldn't have been unimpressed with _me._" I noted dryly. "I'm not officially a student here." Laura looked at me curiously.

"What do you mean? You join in the training, sleep here, eat here, and take lessons with Beast here. You can't get much more student-y than that." She pointed out. I shook my head.

"I haven't sworn any allegiance yet." I reminded her. She laughed.

"Oh, that. You think _I_ have? I'm just here because I've got nowhere else to go. Wolverine's like the dad I never had, kind of." She broke off as we entered the dining room. Sam jumped up from his chair and reached me so fast that I was sure he had cannonballed over.

"Where were you?" He asked urgently. "I was worried."

Those three words made me feel happier than I had in a long time, laughing as he picked me up and spun me around.

"We beat up the Brotherhood." Laura said simply, sitting down at the table. She then glared at Alex, leaning back on the chair next to her. "_You_ weren't worried about me?" He came to sit up straight quickly.

"You're pretty self-sufficient." He admitted, wincing when she pushed him off his chair. He landed on the floor with a hard _thump_, just as Scott walked in.

"Laura! I told you not to push my brother around!" He warned angrily. Jean followed, touching him lightly on the shoulder.

"Scott, she's his girlfriend, she has rights." She told him sternly, clearly amused. Alex stood up and dusted himself off, embarrassed.

"I'm fine. Besides," he added, putting an arm around Laura, "She doesn't know how to express her love any other way." She turned towards him at that, smiling slyly.

"I don't, do I?" She enquired coyly, the familiar _snickt_ sound heard from under the table. He smiled back warily.

"Um… I was joking?" He countered feebly. She nodded, returning to her normal position.

"That's better."

Rogue stomped in a few minutes later, seemingly not noticing us. Gambit's voice floated down the hallway.

"Remy told y' he don't care 'bout de touch t'ing." Rogue spun around to face him as he entered, waving a gloved hand in his face.

"And ah told ya, there's a reason ah wear these gloves!" She yelled at him, seemingly not for the first time.

The room went quiet.

When Rogue turned to see us all staring, dumbfounded, she threw her hands up in the air and marched out, muttering under her breath. Remy sighed and slumped over at the table. Scott had a small smirk on his face- he'd never been too happy about an ex-Acolyte joining the X-Men, and even less happy about said ex-Acolyte pursuing Rogue.

"Your relationship with Rogue not going to plan?" Our fearless leader asked, mock-polite.

"Wipe dat look off ya face, scooter." Growled Remy, stuffing his mouth with food before he could say more. "At least she hasn't killed Remy yet."

"'Yet' being the operative word in this sentence," quipped Bobby. Amara shot a small fireball at him, causing the iceman to jump two feet into the air and ice up to put out the flames. When he resumed his normal form, he was fairly damp and very unamused.

Before he could retaliate, Kurt popped into the chair between them. After a few minutes of uninterrupted eating, the furball spoke up.

"Vhere eez Keety?" he mumbled through a mouthful of pasta.

"In her room, where you left her." Jubilee informed him. "She hasn't come out since."

"I feel even better about getting revenge on Lance now." I commented, helping myself to some carrots. Jean frowned.

"Do you really think she'll be happy that you beat up her ex-boyfriend, who she probably still likes?"

"I don't think she'll mind." I said nonchalantly. "Besides, she doesn't like him. She likes someone else now."

"How do you know _that_?" Rahne asked. I smiled secretively.

"Oh, I have my ways." I said indifferently, taking another bite and deciding to leave in order to avoid any more questions I didn't want to answer. Especially ones about Calypso leaving.

As I walked up the stairs I thought about her last words to me: _"Your birthday is on the fourth of July."_ I couldn't help but give a harsh laugh. Independence Day- it had been the start of anything but independence for me. Isolation Day would have been more accurate.

Passing by Kitty and Rogue's room, my sensitive ears picked up two distinct sounds: The sound of Kitty still sniffling into the pillow, and the sound of Rogue climbing down from her balcony, muttering something about not being able to read.

More for Kitty's sake then Rogue's, I knocked on the door. Kitty's sniffles ceased; I took that as an invitation to walk in. She sat up when I did, red eyed but smiling slightly.

"We beat Lance up." I informed her, leaning against the doorframe.

"I wish you hadn't." She remarked, moving to once side of her bed to give me room to sit down. I did, crossing my legs and looking her in the eye.

"Why?" I asked, even though I thought I knew the answer. She looked down.

"He didn't dump me without good reason." She said quietly. My suspicions were confirmed, and I waited for a few moments before speaking again.

"The break-up isn't why you're still upset, is it?" She shrugged.

"I'm just feeling sorry for myself." She replied, smiling ruefully. I sighed. Worming things out of people was a harder process to stand when you already knew whatever it was you were trying to find out.

So I gave her a knowing look. Or what I hoped was a knowing look, in any case. It must have been passable, because she spoke up.

"Lance broke up with me because he thought I liked someone else."

"And…?" She was silent for what seemed like forever, and I could see her debating on whether to admit it.

Finally she turned to me, her big blue eyes harboring an emotion so different to her usual perkiness. "He was right." Then she laughed. "I can't believe that I'm like, pouring out my feelings to someone who's two years younger than me." I shrugged, grinning at her.

"I'm not your average fifteen year old. And if you tell me who this mystery person is, I have my ways of finding out if he likes you back." Yes, my powers could come in handy for that…

She hung her head and muttered, "Don't waste your time. He likes Amanda Sefton."

Now that was a revelation. I'd found out that she liked someone other than Lance… but _Kurt_?

I propped my head up on my elbows. "That could be a problem." She nodded in agreement.

"Tell me about it."

_Okay, this is taking a Kurtty turn. Sorry all you Lancitty fans!_

_Please, please, PLEASE review. I update much faster if you do. Also, I'd like ideas on how to improve it. Thank you so much to my multiple reviewers, Lifebringsmeonlytears and Abbs of the Fairies. You guys make my day on a regular basis. _

_Allyg1990_


	13. Southern Love

The perfect opportunity to help Kitty came during a training session a few days later; the fact that I was (or at least, thought I should be) ecstatic that Calypso had finally left added to my generosity. Logan had paired me off with Kurt, because his teleportation and agility meant we were better matched for skill than most of the other students. At least, that's what Logan's cover was. We all knew that it was an extra part to Kurt's punishment of an extra danger room session.

So I suited up and made it to the danger room a few minutes before Kurt; he had probably spent longer than necessary on breakfast. The aim was simple; knock the other person out, or at least get them to surrender. Logan was being more cautious than usual about his language around me, not that I blamed him. He probably wanted Kurt getting killed just about as much as I wanted Calypso to come back.

Kurt was generally just a nuisance on the battlefield; he used his teleportation and acrobatic skills to the maximum effect and was fairly skilled at hand to hand combat. Getting close to him was the hardest part; my hands usually closed on fistfuls of smoke.

Finally, I resorted to using my powers, instigating in him a fit of depression so severe that he lost the will to survive Logan's wrath and drooped, from his tail down to his pointy ears. Taking the moment of distraction as an opportunity to jump him, I soon had him completely pinned to the floor, the small knife at his neck only a formality; I knew I'd won, because if he teleported he'd just take me with him. He sighed.

"I surrender." He told me, holding up his arms. Before I moved, I took a quick moment to probe his mind without him noticing.

All I got in such a short space of time was one fear, broadcasted as an image; Kitty, walking towards Lance, a smile on her face.

I was shaken from my thought by Kurt grinning up at me.

"I surrendered; doesn't zat mean I go free now?" He asked impishly. I jumped up hastily.

"Sorry, I spaced out a little." I admitted, releasing my hold on him and tucking my knife back where it belonged. Then I reached out a hand to help him up, and Logan gave us his opinions on our techniques. Kurt was supposed to be working on his mental blocks more, and I had to be more observant.

I went to sit in the rec room to think over what I'd gleaned; Kurt obviously didn't want Kitty to go back to Lance. It was a strong fear, so it could be that he was interested. But it was just as likely that it was just a good friendship. I sighed. When would life get any easier?

Then Jamie burst in, eight times over.

"Guess what?" he asked me excitedly. "Rogue and Gambit are _fighting_!"

"That's not very unusual." I pointed out. All eight Jamies shook their heads.

"No! In the danger room! It's some sort of competition." I sprang up from my seat.

"This could be interesting." The possibilities were endless, and I decided to sprint to the control room with him. Practically the entire population of the institute, save for Professor Xavier, was in there glued to the glass, watching the couple below.

"So if ah beat you, you stop callin' me _chère?_" Rogue asked suspiciously. Remy nodded, a sly smile on his face.

"And if Remy beats y', he gets t' take y' to dinner." Rogue snorted.

"You won't beat meh, swamp rat, so I'll take that bet." They shook hands, hers fully gloved, his only partially, the bare fingers stark against her black leather. Logan gave them a signal to start, and Rogue flew at her opponent, who casually blocked her with his Bo staff.

We could all hear Remy whisper through the enhanced speakers. "If y' wanted t' get this close, _chère, _y' should have just asked." Rogue and Logan growled simultaneously, as she hooked her legs around his knees and toppled him to the floor.

Remy wasn't emptily called a skilled fighter; he followed suit, making sure she wouldn't be able to get free.

She retaliated by sharply jabbing him in the stomach when he was concentrating on his legs; he pulled away with a low groan, dropping his staff, and she jumped back into a standing position, dexterously cutting through the air to avoid the exploding cards being thrown at her.

One of them knocked her off her balance, and he leapt towards her to put his hands on her shoulders and force her down with his superior weight. Somehow, as they fell, Rogue twisted around to get above him, and had freed one hand of its glove, about to absorb it, when I realized the consequences of this.

There was only one way to get Rogue to realize that Remy, as I well knew, wasn't actually emptily flirting. And _that_ was to get them to know each other. No, I had no choice but to stop her.

Everyone was staring at the glass too hard with anticipation to notice me, so I in turn concentrated on Rogue, watching that strand of golden light wrap around her. I gave her a short burst of fear- if she absorbed him, what would she find?

That alone was enough to cause her to falter, and before she could react she was pinned against the ground, Remy's covered knee pressed to her bare hand to stop her from trying anything.

"I do believe we have a date, _chère_." He told her, putting emphasis on the endearment. She squirmed, unhappy with the fact that their faces were about an inch apart. He resisted her movement, keeping her there until she relented.

"Fine." She grumbled. "You won, and ah'm not one to go back on mah word." He let her go after that, grabbing her hand to pull her up and then taking a bow. Rogue scowled harder at that, angrily stalking out, Remy running after her.

Laura and I simultaneously grinned at each other as everyone else filtered out of the room to do whatever they were doing before the fight. When the room was clear, we crept down to a corridor adjacent to the one Rogue and Remy were probably still walking down, opened up our ears and looked through a slash in the wall, courtesy of Laura in a fit of rage a few weeks back.

"Eight o clock tomorrow okay with y', _chère_?" Gambit asked, his tone as casual and lazy as usual.

"Fine. Is there a dress code ah should know 'bout, apart from completely covered and gloved?" Her voice was bitter and sarcastic, and he picked up on it.

"Casual, and unless y' think y'd get cold, the covering-up part isn't necessary." He told her firmly. She turned to him, putting her bare hand a few inches away from his face.

"Don't you get it? Ah could kill you." She said softly, looking into his red on black eyes. He shrugged indifferently.

"Y' had the chance to absorb me once, and y' didn't. Remy trusts y'." He replied simply. She swung her hand back to her side, replacing the glove on it.

"It's not 'bout whether ah want to absorb you! Accidents happen, Remy." She reminded him. He grabbed one of her gloved hands, pulling her back towards him.

"I'm not afraid." He said, his voice matching hers for softness. She looked down to the floor.

"Ah am." She muttered, walking away. Remy grinned after her.

"Y' called me Remy." She turned around and grinned back.

"Don't start thinking' ah'm gonna make it a habit." She warned him, and disappeared out of the corridor, Gambit gazing after her and then turning around and doing the same.

When we were sure they were out of sight, Laura and I turned to each other. I had a sentimental look on my face.

"That was cute." I commented. Laura scowled.

"Alex never says anything like that to _me_." She huffed.

"He's probably scared you'll push him off his chair for his efforts." I reminded her. "Do you want me to find out if whispering sweet nothings in your ear without getting filleted is one of his deepest desires?" She gave me a lighthearted shove.

"No. Actually, yes. I want to go sharpen my claws in case he actually does it." We walked off together, resolving to spy on the pair whenever possible. It was fun.

The next day, we got our chance. Unfortunately, Remy was taking Rogue on his motorbike, so we decided not to follow them on their date. However, we _were_ privy to the conversation they had before they left.

Remy was as covered up as a man could be, full gloves and all. Rogue had a coat on over the top of what she was wearing, so we didn't see it; not until Remy insisted that she show him.

Grumbling loudly, she shrugged off the coat. As requested, she was wearing a short sleeved t-shirt, but with unnaturally long gloves that reached to the middle of her upper arm.

"_Non_, this will not do." He shook his head, taking her gloved hands in his and pulling one of the gloves off before she could do anything, revealing the untouched milk-white skin.

"But-" She started, but a gloved finger on her lips stopped her talking.

"Rogue," he informed her insistently, "unless y' plan on kissing me, not that I'm objecting, y' can't hurt me tonight. So humor Remy and play by his rules." With that he pulled the other glove off, stuffing both into his pocket. Then he again grabbed her hand, hers now bare and his gloved, and pulled her outside. They drove away, leaving us with nothing to do for the rest of the night.

Shortly afterwards Professor Xavier called me to his office. I sat in the appointed chair, awaiting instructions.

"Calliope, it has come to mind that you don't often leave the institute. In order to remedy that, I have arranged for you to have music lessons at the Bayville Conservatory." I didn't object; it _would_ be nice to get out a bit more, as the only times I ever did were either when I was shopping, or out with Sam. So I nodded. He continued.

"What instrument would you like to take?" He asked me. "They have a wide variety: Piano, violin, singing, bassoon, the bagpipes…" I knew the last one was more of a joke than a suggestion, so I dutifully smiled.

"Singing might be nice. I haven't had much experience in that, and I can already play a bit of piano." He nodded.

"Singing it is. There's a wonderful teacher I know, by the name of Jeannine Hawkins. I'll arrange for you to have lessons a few times a week- you could drive back home with the students, the conservatory is right next to Bayville High School."

So that was that. In any case, it would make showers more fun. Though I was a pretty good singer, it wasn't something I was…perfect at. When you're genetically modified to do nothing wrong at most things, a challenge is more than welcome.

I stayed awake for a while that night, just thinking. I did that a lot lately. About Calypso. Sam. Hydra. I was still awake when the purr of a motorcycle and the rustle of leaves from the balcony of the room next to mine alerted me to Rogue's return.

Then there was a frightened squeal.

"Rogue! Can't you like, use the door?" I heard the southerner huff.

"This way was easier." She mumbled, and the groan of springs indicated that she'd sat down on her bed. I heard Kitty's bedsprings answer as she sprung to a sitting position.

"So, what happened?" asked the phaser excitedly.

"Nothin'!" Rogue insisted. "Ah just want to get to sleep, so ah'd appreciate it if you'd-" The sound of pillow hitting girl cut her off.

"Not until you tell me _everything_!" Kitty insisted. "So start talking!"

"We went, we sat, we ate, and we left." Rogue concluded. Kitty _whined_.

"Well," Kitty replied. "If you won't tell me, I'll just comment. Wasn't it like, SO cute how he wore long sleeves and gloves and everything? So you could wear a t-shirt."

"Ah guess that was kind 'o thoughtful of him." Rogue admitted grudgingly. "And he does have a nice bike." Kitty clapped.

"Yay! I'm totally getting some info here. So, like, where did you go?" She asked.

"Some Cajun restaurant about a mile north of here. The gumbo wasn't half bad." She added thoughtfully. Kitty sighed.

"I'll bet that's not all that was delicious." She remarked dreamily, receiving a pillow to the head for her efforts.

"That's mah Swamp Rat you're talkin' 'bout." Rogue reprimanded, justifying her actions.

"I'll stop if you tell me more." Rogue thought about this.

"You know what, Kit? Ah think that Gambit might not be so bad after all." She was quiet for a few moments. "Ah can't tell if he really likes me, or if it's just flirtin'. What kind of a ladies man would entertain more than a passin' interest in a girl who can't touch?" Kitty was quick to soothe her friend's doubt.

"Rogue, it's been what, like a year since you guys met. Do you think he'd still be trying to change your opinion?" Rogue snorted.

"Mebbe he just likes a challenge." She thought aloud bitterly. "He's prob'ly been with dozens 'o girls since then. Ah'm just entertainment." I winced. She thought he looked at her as if she was a piece of meat!

"Come on Rogue, you know that's not true." Kitty protested. Rogue shrugged the comment away.

"For all ah know, it could be." She insisted, and I heard her clothes rustle as she pulled her knees up to her chest. "Ah don't know how to act, Kitty. It's as if ah want to like him, but ah'm trying to protect mahself. Ah can't ask for that kind of commitment." Her voice was tinged with sadness.

"Rogue-" The person in question interrupted the valley girl before she could continue.

"Kit, let's not talk about this. Ah don't want to ruin a great night." Kitty perked up.

"So it went well." I could visualize the dreamy look passing across Rogue's face.

"You could say that." After a few 'goodnight's, there was a silence, and I peered out my window.

As I'd suspected, Remy was standing on the ground, looking up at Rogue's balcony, a half sad and half pleased expression on his face. He looked up when he heard my window open.

"You were listening to that too." I stated, not an accusation, just a fact. He smirked.

"What can Remy say? Even after all dese years, he still be a t'ief." His voice took on a sad tone- He must have been remembering the doubt in Rogue's voice when he admitted to being a thief. It was probably one of the reasons she doubted him.

"She likes you. She's just confused." I assured him confidently. He ran a hand through his long hair.

"Remy never thought he'd see de day where he'd be gettin' relationship advice from a younger girl." He admitted. I crossed my arms.

"Why does everyone say that?" I complained aloud. He started walking away.

"Because no matter what's happened in y' life, y' still a kid." He said quietly.

"I heard that!" I called after him. He chuckled.

"Remy knows y' did, p'tite. Now get back into y' bed like a good little fifteen year old." I grudgingly obeyed, shutting my window and turning to face my bed. With all this new information to think about, the covers almost seemed inviting.

_There's a whole hunk of Romy for you. I did say it would have some Romy in it, so I've fulfilled my promise. Not that that will be all. Oh no, far from it. Adopts an ominous tone They shall be back!_

_As always, PLEASE review. I love you people who do. If I had the means, I'd you guys chocolate. Lots of it._

_Allyg1990_


	14. Betrayal

The next day, the professor announced that I was to have my first singing lesson. This 'Jeanine' person had managed to make room for me at short notice, and I could tell from the Professor's tone that I was expected to be extremely grateful.

Storm dropped me off at the conservatory a few minutes before my lesson- it didn't take me long to find the room I was supposed to go to. It had a large, printed sign proclaiming that this room was home to 'Professor Jeanine Hawkins'. _A Professor_. I thought with amusement, remembering that our own Professor had known her. _I suppose the scholarly types stick together._

I knocked cautiously on the flimsy wooden door.

"Come in!" Shouted a woman's voice, robust and with a slight accent I couldn't quite place. I carefully pushed the door open, and the owner of the voice came into view, a tall, coffee-skinned woman with endless coils of dark hair. She must have been older than outwardly looked, but her age was only given away by the few worry lines creasing her forehead and the corners of her eyes. When she saw me she smiled.

"You must be Calliope. Please, call me Jeanine." She extended her hand and I shook it, happy to find that her grip was firm. She turned towards the piano whose stool she was sitting on, clearing away the music from its stand. "You're from the Xavier Institute?" I nodded. Did she know we were mutants? Did she care? She smiled broadly.

"How's old Charles doing? I hope he doesn't go poking around in your minds when you're in trouble to gather evidence." She said dryly, a cheeky smile curling on her lips. I grinned.

"So are you…?" She shook her head, still smiling.

"I don't need powers to protect me." She informed me, and then dug in a side cupboard, drawing out a plain water glass. She set it on the table, pausing to look straight at me.

"Charles said something about sensitive hearing?" I nodded.

"Healing factor." I explained. She gave a soft 'ah' as if that were the most ordinary ability to be equipped with.

"You might want to put your fingers in your ears." She warned, and I did so, bracing myself against what I knew was to come. There was a shrill shriek, and the glass shattered. When she closed her mouth again, I dared to take my fingers out of my ears.

"You're sure that isn't a power?" I asked dubiously. She shook her head.

"No. Pure talent." She told me with pride. "Hurts if you don't wear protection. That's saved me from a couple of scrapes." I looked at her, impressed. I liked this woman already. She neatly swept up the glass shards and deposited them in, turning to face me with her arms akimbo.

"Well." She said. "On with the lesson."

An hour later, when I'd finished, I ran over to the doors of Bayville High across the street, looking flushed and happy. Apparently I wasn't bad for a first-time singer. She'd talked about putting me in that week's intermediate level Sunday concert. When you've been deprived of a normal lifestyle, that kind of thing means a lot.

I caught sight of Sam when I was fairly far away, ready to excitedly spill out the details of my day, when I froze.

My enhanced sight had kicked in, and I saw a girl standing next to him. She seemed to be about my age; tall, almost gangly, with short blonde hair and light blue eyes. She was holding a large bunch of blood red roses. From him?

My throat closed up and I felt my breaths get shallower as she kissed him on the cheek. Sam wouldn't do this to me, would he? It was all a mistake, yes, that was right-

The flicker of her voice I heard confirmed it.

"Don't worry. I won't tell your girlfriend." I turned to run, far away, for as long as I could. Anywhere but here, I didn't need to witness anything else that would make my stomach turn with betrayal. But before I left, he caught sight of me in the distance, and I saw the expression on his face as clear as if he was standing right beside me: guilt.

My feet pounded the dirt, my shoes eventually tearing apart from the friction of rubber against tarmac, and later earth. The bare flesh of my heels was cut again and again, healing to reveal perfect new skin, to be destroyed within seconds. The pain was insignificant; nothing compared to the pain gripping my soul.

People stared at me; the teenager running barefoot through the streets of Bayville, making my way towards the institute. Then deep into the forest, concealed by leaves and bark, the dappled sunshine filtering through to rest on my face and the small amount of bare skin I was revealing. It did nothing to warm the ice in my heart; nothing to melt it.

Soon the sunlight faded, and I slunk back closer to the building, watching it come into sight with dread growing in the pit of my stomach. I slid up the wall with the precision of a longtime spy, slamming the window shut when I was safe in the darkness of my room.

I don't know how long I lay there, looking up at the ceiling, void of any emotion apart from pain. Who could I trust now? Before today there was Sam: smiling, ever ready to talk. The first person I had truly trusted. The first person I had loved. Now I had no-one. No-one to soothe the pain.

A knock on my door startled me out of my oblivion. I slowly opened the door, to see none other than the traitor standing there. My eyes narrowed, the pain renewing itself.

"What?" I asked, my voice wavering slightly. His smile dropped; his eyes were concerned.

"What did I do?" He stepped towards my, reaching his arms out to touch mine, but I backed away.

"You well know, Sam!" I cried, throwing a fistful of golden light at him, watching in horror as he stumbled back from the feelings of betrayal, pain and deep set loneliness.

"That's how I feel." I said quietly. "That's how I feel." With a slam, the door shut in his face, and I made sure to lock it. The warm, salty tears flowed freely down my cheeks, something I hadn't felt since the day I got my emotions back. Why had I let myself be freed? Emotion truly was weakness. The greatest weakness of all. It let you love, cherish, feel as if you belonged. And it could rip that away in a single, rose-scented moment.

I didn't notice the door creep open the second time; my face was buried in my pillow to conceal my sobs. A _snickt_ noted the sheathing of one makeshift adamantium lock pick; a person so knowledgeable of my position sat on the edge of my bed, awkwardly patting an arm to comfort me. Yes, I still had people I could trust; people who trusted _me_. But the person I trusted most was lost to me forever.

I stayed hidden for the next two days; just lying on my bed, thinking. My door and windows were permanently locked. Three times a day there would be a tray of food outside my door; three times a day I would refuse most of it, taking only the glass of water that would invariably sit next to the plate of food. The pain of hunger dulled the mental pain I felt; it was more of a blessing than anything else.

Maybe I was overreacting; I probably was. But I wasn't used to this kind of pain; mental pain. I hadn't felt it before. And it took a while to heal.

My healing factor kept me alive those days. Every so often people would knock on my door, demanding to be let in before I did myself some serious harm. My mental blocks were up, turning away any telepaths trying to get into my head. I was later informed that Laura persuaded anyone not to enter by force; she herself had locked herself away for days at a time upon first joining, and stressed that time was the only answer. Besides, with a healing factor and adamantium skeleton, what kind of harm could I come to?

The only time I left was for my singing lessons. If Jeanine knew anything about the situation back at the institute, she said nothing of it. On Saturday, I promised to see her the next day at the recital, and left. When I did see her, it was next to the X-Men: all of them, lined up in a row, just as they would have promised if I'd have told them myself. My eyes welled up with tears as I stood on that stage. Then the music started, and I sang.

_**She's like the swallow that flies so high**_

_**She's like the river that never runs dry**_

_**She's like the sunshine on the lee shore**_

_**She loves her love but she'll love no more**_

Yes, the only person I could love was Sam. For my own good, I had to shut myself off from him. Did he realize I knew? From the bittersweet confused expression adorning his face, I guessed not. Let him think I was mad about something petty. He'd find out soon enough.

**_She climbed on yonder hill above_**_**  
**_**_To give a rose unto her love._**_**  
**_**_She gave him one, she gave him three_**_**  
**_**_She gave her heart for company._**__

**_And as they sat on yonder hill_**_**  
**_**_His heart grew hard, so harder still._**_**  
**_**_He has two hearts instead of one._**_**  
**_**_She says, "Young man, what have you done?"_**

**He still watched me intently. Was I wrong? Would he do that? She'd seemed so close to him… **

**_"How foolish, foolish you must be_**_**  
**_**_To think I love no one but thee._**_**  
**_**_The world's not made for one alone,_**_**  
**_**_I take delight in everyone."_**

**Ha! Truth through music. I had thought that he'd loved no-one but me.**

**_Don't worry, I won't tell your girlfriend_****. Her words echoed around my head.**

**_She's like the swallow that flies so high_**

**_She's like the river that never runs dry_**

**_She's like the sunshine on the lee shore_**

**_She loves her love but she'll love no more._**

**I hurried off at the clapping. It had all felt like a confession. My story. Getting my feelings out. Again I ran to my room, resolving to go down to dinner that day. This was as good a time as any to face the music. Besides, I was hungry.**

**_I honestly think this was rubbishy but I needed drama in here. Callie I think HAS to overreact, because she doesn't know how to deal with that kind of thing. One thing they _****didn't****_ cover at HYDRA- I guess failure was not an option. :)_**

**_Allyg1990_**


	15. Reconciliation

Just before I decided to finally walk down to dinner, I picked up on Jean and Kitty talking outside my room.

"I like, wonder what's wrong with her?" Kitty asked the older girl.

"She should be okay- I mean, she has a healing factor. And she came out to do her concert. Maybe she just needs some time alone." Jean was as sensible as always.

"She's been in there for three days, Jean, that's not normal!" I was tempted to walk out there and then and save Kitty from hysteria, but Jean's reply interrupted me.

"I know how long it's been, Kitty! The day she locked herself in was the day Scott had to go back out after he dropped us off here because Sam was with Paige!"

My breath caught in my throat. They _knew_ about this girl? Any resolve I had made to face the students was shattered. They knew. They hadn't told me. They had betrayed me, too.

Where could I go now? I truly had no-one. No friends. No family. Even Laura must have known!

Then it struck me: _Calypso_.

That idea was shoved aside before it could even take root. She was no better than the rest of them!

But why had she lied?

_To protect me_. I realized. Two halves of my mind wrestled with each other.

_It was still betrayal._

_She _had_ cared about me!_

_She wouldn't take me in if I came to her!_

_No harm in asking._

Then I realized: I hadn't found out where she was living. I sank to my bed.

_Her home is fifteen miles west of here. A large estate, owned by the Richards family._ I spun around.

"Who was that?" I said aloud. The mental voice became amused.

_Your shields are formidable, Calliope, but I'm not called the most powerful telepath alive for nothing, you know_. I relaxed.

_Professor? _Then, _is it true? _ He was silent for a few moments.

_That is not for me to tell you. You must talk to Sam yourself. _ I sighed. Nothing was ever _that_ easy. The professor chuckled.

_Indeed, nothing ever is. I wish you luck, Calliope, and hope to see you back here soon. Please extend the same invitation to Calypso._ I gave him a mental nod, shimmying out the window.

_This is one of those times where flying would come in use._ I grumbled, starting to walk.

It took me most of the night to get there; and I saw the house long before I came close. 'House' wasn't correct; 'Castle' would have been more accurate. At the start of the driveway, there was a sign. _The Richards Residence_.

I didn't bother with calling up to the house. I simply leapt over the gate, walking calmly up to the front door.

Unfortunately, someone saw me before I reached it. A balding man who looked to be in his early sixties hobbled out, waving his walking stick in the air.

"Get away! No trespassers!" He yelled, his accent stodgy and very British. I didn't know whether to laugh or talk to him.

Someone else appeared at the door.

"It's all right, Charles." Calypso called. "This is Calliope. She is my…" she hesitated, deciding on "…friend." I was grateful that she hadn't started the daughter business again. Charles eyed me warily, the cane still teetering above his head. With a sigh, he put it down.

"Would your guest care for some tea, Miss Richards?" he asked, addressing Calypso. She ran a hand through her brown hair, the shawl around her shoulders slipping.

"Thank you Charles, I can manage." With a huff he hobbled back inside, muttering about children these days. I raised an eyebrow at Calypso once he had left.

"You have a _butler_?" She smiled at me, a warm, genuine smile.

"He's supposed to be retired. Old habits die hard." She gestured for me to come in, leading me through an intricately decorated hallway to an old fashioned kitchen, complete with one of those English Aga stoves. I sat quietly at a forbidding mahogany kitchen table, watching as she rummaged around in the cupboards to find a brand new electric kettle. Waiting patiently for the water to start running from an ancient tap, she filled it, plugging into a dusty wall socket. Then she turned to me, leaning against the countertop.

"What brings you here? I was under the impression that the next time I saw you you'd be hunting me down for revenge." Her tone was sarcastic, tinged with sadness. I winced.

"I'm sorry about that. I was so focused on thinking you'd betrayed me that I couldn't see who the real traitor was." Her head snapped up in concern.

"Who?" She asked softly. My eyes started tearing up, but I strengthened my resolve; he wasn't worth crying over.

"Sam." I managed to choke out. "He was… cheating…" I didn't get a chance to finish my sentence as she took a seat in the chair beside me, cradling me in her arms. I let the tears run, moist and warm, but she rocked me back and forth, soothing me in a way Laura never could have. She was the mother I never had. My only family.

When I finally stopped crying I looked up at her, grinning sheepishly. My eyes, as usual, refused to go blotchy, but the redness was still there as I remarked,

"I haven't eaten in quite a while." In no time she was swooping around the kitchen, gathering utensils, jars and boxes. Within a few minutes of silent cooking Calypso handed me a plateful of pasta with tomato sauce. It tasted better than anything I'd ever eaten. I'm told most things do when you've starved yourself for three days.

"Come on." She said when I've finished. "I'll show you where you can sleep; you look as if you need a good night's rest." I grabbed her hand before she could walk away.

"Please- no. I won't be able to sleep now." She sat back down.

"Would it help if I stayed here and talked to you?" She asked kindly. "I'm not working at all, so it doesn't really matter how long I stay up. This is the most excitement I've had in a while." I laughed through my tears, and we talked through the night. At one point the conversation turned to whether I would return to the institute.

"I don't know." I said carefully. "Probably. I want to have some time to get myself together, you know?" She nodded.

"Take all the time you need. You're welcome to stay for as long as you want. This-" She waved a hand around the room, "Gets a little lonely. I just have Charles for company, and I'm on my computer most days, just writing." She grinned at me. "I'm thinking of writing a novel based on our 'adventures'. If no-one thinks it's amazing, I never have to tell them that it's the truth."

I took a sip of the cocoa she'd made us both. "How big is this place, anyway?" She wrinkled her forehead in thought.

"Fifteen guest rooms." She started. "Complete living areas- that's a master bedroom, bathroom, sitting room and kitchenette- for six people. An outdoor swimming pool and tennis court, various other rooms I can't remember- I don't think I knew all of it when I used to live here." I whistled, and she added a hesitant afterthought. "If you were to live here, you could invite as many people over as you wanted." She told me, a smile playing over her delicate features, unspoilt by time and age. I smiled back, getting up and stretching.

"Sounds great." I added my own afterthought. "Mom." As she led me to my room, her face was glowing. I think it was the most meaningful thing anyone had ever said to her in a long, long time.

The next morning I slept in. The rooms she'd given me were painted a light pink, with very floral decorations. Not particularly to my taste, but they'd do for now.

As we were eating a late lunch together, served by Charles, the doorbell rang. Forcing the elderly butler to sit down and take a break, I skipped to open it. When I did, my face fell.

It was Jean.

My voice turned cold.

"What can I do for you?" I asked crisply. She stepped in nervously, a worried look on her face.

"Callie, we're all worried about you. Especially Sam." She added. I stared at her, openly enraged.

"Sam? He's the one that made me do what I did!" I struggled to keep my voice level. She frowned.

"What did he do?" she asked, her voice laced with confusion. I shook my head.

"Why don't you just poke around in my head and see?" I asked snidely, forcing the images at her through an opening in my mental block. She clutched her temples, breathing deeply until she could sort the memories out.

At last she looked up at me, smiling.

"Callie, there's been a misunderstanding here. That girl you saw Sam with-"

"Paige." I interrupted her. She nodded.

"Paige is his sister." I kept staring at her, one eyebrow raised.

"So Sam's into incest now, is he?" Jean had to contain her amusement.

"No. Paige was visiting relatives in New York, so she dropped by to see him. He asked her to pick up roses- for _you-_"

_For me? _

"-and she told him that she wouldn't tell you that _she_ picked them up in case you thought he was lazy. That's what you heard, Callie. It was all a misunderstanding."

This new information filled my mind, and suddenly I felt flustered and foolish.

"Oh." I said in a small voice. "_Oh_." She rubbed her head tiredly.

"Oh is right. Will you be returning to the institute?" Calypso had come up behind me, and I ignored the pleading in her eyes, ashamed.

"Yeah." I turned to face my 'mother'. "I'll come often, I promise. And come visit me whenever. I know Storm will be happy, especially now that Logan's secret stash of beer is seriously depleted." Calypso struggled to keep a straight face.

"I can understand how she would find that… distressing." She managed to say, biting her lip. I looked up at her, filled with new understanding for the woman. 

"Well." I started, forcing my hands deep down into the pockets of my dirty jeans. "Goodbye, I guess." Tentatively I gave her a quick hug, before flashing a smile and following Jean. My happiness stemmed from two points: The fact that my boyfriend had _not_ cheated on me, and that for the first time in my life, I had a mother.

As soon as we arrived back at the institute I jumped out of Jean's van and sprinted through the mansion, running through the network of corridors that wormed through the building, straight to Sam's room. I paused outside the door; Bobby and Sam were talking.

"I just don't know why she's doing this." Sam said bluntly. "She made me feel so…lost."

"Girls are unpredictable." Bobby put in sympathetically. "Take Jubilee- one minute she's throwing firecrackers at me, the next, sobbing into my shirt."

"I just wonder… did she ever really love me? Or was I another trophy, another notch on the lipstick case?"

"That's a phrase I haven't heard." Bobby replied approvingly. I could almost hear Sam blushing.

"Amara mentioned it. The whole 'notch on the bedpost' idea doesn't really apply here." He admitted. I heard Bobby stretch, his joints clicking.

"She'll come around. Either she feels _something_ for you or she's the best actress I've ever met." I heard the iceman stand up. "See you around…" He opened the door and came face to face with me.

"Hey Bobby." I said conversationally. "Is Sam available?" With an 'I-told-you-so' look shot at his friend, he walked away, whistling to himself. I stepped inside Sam's room, shutting the door behind me. Sam stood up.

"How long were you listening for?" He asked, not accusing, just smiling good-naturedly. I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Long enough to want to correct you." I walked straight up to him. "Sam, you aren't another notch in my lipstick case. You're much more than that to me, and I guess that's why I freaked out a little…" I put the memories I'd given Jean into words as best as I could, waiting anxiously for his reaction at the end of it.

h

"You know," he said thoughtfully. "If not for the whole trauma thing, this could be kind of funny." I stifled a giggle, taking his hands in mine.

"I'm sorry." I apologized softly. "Is this the part where we kiss and make up?" He looked down at me, sky-blue eyes twinkling.

"Well, if that's what the lady wants…" he started in an exaggerated tone. I silenced him by grabbing his shirt to pull him down to my level, and pressing my lips to his.

When we parted, we were both smiling.

"…That's what the lady gets?" He finished, slightly unsure. I grinned at him.

"I'll bet on that." I said firmly, promptly making sure that would be one bet I wouldn't lose.

_Sorry if I screwed Paige's appearance up in any way. All I know, wikipedia hath bestowed upon me. Hope this chapter was satisfactory, and a good dose of Calypso too!_

_allyg1990_


	16. Spying

There was something resembling a ripple of silent cheering as we came down to dinner that night, issues resolved, hand in hand.

I had told Sam about making it up with Calypso, and he said he was happy for me; his approval cemented my belief that I'd done the right thing. Laura came solemnly up to me once I'd sat down, extending a hand.

"Welcome to the ex-Hydra clones with one parent-figure club." She said seriously, and we shook hands, fighting back smiles. I had a feeling the idea had come from Jamie, who was laughing so hard that he multiplied three times and knocked Ray off his seat. Luckily the older guy was stopped by Bobby before he could electrocute the culprit.

If anyone noticed that I ate a lot more than usual that night, they didn't comment on it- Logan just heaped another few servings of mashed potato on my plate. Even after two decent meals, I was still pretty hungry. A healing factor can only do so much, and I had a feeling the older weapon knew that.

Over the course of the next few days, life returned to normal, though Gambit was noticeably more successful in his flirtations with Rogue. This, of course, led to more spying from me and Laura. Any other kid would have been found out- not us!

Unfortunately for Kitty, who had a good idea of what we were up to, the touch barrier made for poor gossip. Mostly they just talked- I reckon that by the end of our time as spies, we knew more of Gambit's history than anyone else in the mansion, apart from Rouge of course.

One night was different- as usual, Remy was completely covered and Rogue wore something sleeveless. They were walking through the grounds, when Remy abruptly turned to her.

"Rogue?" he asked suddenly. She looked at him, confusion scattered across her soft features.

"Yeah?" He lifted his gloved hands to cup her face, his thumbs tracing her cheekbones.

"I want y' t' do something for me." She eyed him suspiciously.

"This is startin' to sound a lot like Blood Moon Bayou." She remarked. He shook his head, his fingers still caressing her untouched skin.

"Not'in' like dat. Close y' eyes." She did, bracing herself to be tickled, or worse.

Laura and I watched in horror as Remy LeBeau slid off one leather glove, grasping one small bare hand in his calloused one. We waited for the blue flash of light- but it didn't come.

The look on Rogue's face gradually turned to shock, until almost a minute later the flash came. Remy swore and pulled away. Rogue still retained the bewildered expression.

"Ah… Ah can touch you." She said dumbfounded. "For longer than anyone else." A smile, albeit a confused one, spread on her lips. "But how?" Remy shrugged.

"Do y' trust _moi?_" She nodded slowly.

"Yeah, but ah trust Logan, and the Professor, and Kurt-"

"Maybe jus' not in de same way." He interrupted. She was silent for a few moments.

"Do you think ah'll be able to do it for longer?" Remy grinned at her, taking that hand again. She shivered at the feel of his skin.

"If dere's one ting we learn in de t'ieves guild, it's dat practice makes perfect." He told her, proving his point by showing her the bracelet he'd unclasped while she wasn't paying attention. She scowled.

"Once a thief, always a thief." She muttered, looking back up at his eyes, faintly glowing in the darkness.

"Let's go." I hissed quietly to Laura.

"Why?" she whispered back. "It was just getting to the interesting part." I rolled my eyes.

"It's nothing you haven't done before." She looked at me, with an expression that clearly said, _Don't be so sure._

Now _I_ was confused. I grabbed her arm and carefully moved out of the bushes we were hiding in, out of earshot of the two southerners who were currently embracing and not paying attention to the rustling of leaves.

"You _haven't_ kissed Alex?" I asked incredulously. "But on your date, we all thought-"

"Not in the way _they_ were going to!" She interrupted defensively. "Just cheeks." I groaned.

"You've been going out for almost two months! Are you _scared_ to or something?"

"No." she said quietly. "But I think he is." I thought about this.

"Well," I replied finally. "Maybe he thinks you'll slice him up." She snorted.

"I'm not _that_ clueless." She informed me. "I just don't know what to do about it."

"_You _kiss _him_." I said simply. "That would solve it." Then we heard the cracking of a branch, and saw Rogue and Remy getting closer. That was our cue to run, so we never did finish that conversation. But if I knew Laura, she would take my advice. I grinned to myself. I had a feeling there were going to be some interesting times ahead.

Rogue didn't seem to have told anyone about being able to touch; even it was only for a few seconds, so we kept our mouths shut. I'd like to say it was out of a sense of honor, but in actual fact we didn't want to be skewered. Defeating trained weapons is easier when you can do it with just a touch.

One day, walking to Sam's room before a singing lesson to ask if he could drop me off, I saw his door swing open and Bobby fly through and crash into the opposite wall.

Sam strode out and jabbed his best friend in the chest.

"Don't talk like that to me again!" He said angrily. I raised an eyebrow as Bobby scuttled off.

"Care to explain?" Sam noticed that I was standing there, and colored slightly.

"Come in." he said, shutting the door behind us. And I turned to face him, arms akimbo. He sighed.

"He was talking about…us…and not being very polite."

"What did he say?" I asked curiously. He ran a hand through his blonde hair, fidgeting slightly. Finally he came out with it.

"He kept asking if we'd…" he turned crimson. "…you know. And I said no, why would he think that, we've only been going out for two months, and you're underage, and he said," his flush was from anger now. "That he'd expect it, because of your training and everything." He finished abruptly, not giving me much detail, but I got the general gist of what he meant. He took a step towards me, concerned. "I didn't mean to upset you or anything-"

I stepped towards him and put my arms around his neck.

"That's sweet that you tried to protect my reputation, Sam, really it is," my tone was amused. "But in a way, he wasn't too far off the truth." I tried to figure out a way to get my point across. "You might have noticed that for me, kissing you is no big deal-" I winced. "I didn't mean it like that. I just don't get worked up or anything." I shrugged. "It's the same with sex. I don't think, with my past, that anyone's too worried about the whole age limit thing with me." I took a breath, giving him a suggestive glance. "So, if you're feeling deprived-"

"Hell no! I mean, I'm fine." He said hastily, and then cautiously wrapped his arms around my waist. "With the whole 'Mutant Problem' if I'm going to get arrested, I'd rather it was for something more serious than sleeping with my underage girlfriend." I smirked. It was kind of fun making him nervous.

"Well, if you're sure…" I clasped my hands together and shot him a pleading look. "Are you driving into town this afternoon? I have a singing lesson and don't want to beg a ride from Scott." He gave an exaggerated sign of mock annoyance.

"Fine. But you owe me." He said pointedly.

"Sure thing." I replied, starting to walk out. Then I turned, looking up at him and smiling. "Sam- they say everything you do is a hundred times better if you do it with someone you love. And with you, that's been true for me so far." I strode out before I was tempted to expand. The downside with having emotions was that embarrassment was one of them.

So Sam dropped me off, meeting Jeanine while he was at it. I could tell he was slightly wary of the eccentric woman but soon warmed up to her. With a promise to pick me up later, he left. Jeanine gave me a knowing look.

"Was that your boyfriend?"

"Yeah." I nodded noncommittally, pulling out a sheet of music from my folder. She surprised me by coming out with,

"Good choice. He seems like a nice, upstanding boy who'll treat you well." She winked. "And he's cute, too." I smiled softly.

"I'm lucky." I admitted, for the first time appreciating just how much. My teacher had a slightly sad, wistful look on her face, and not for the first time, I wished I knew more about her past. She had mentioned many a time that singing helped her through her troubles, and the worry lines on her forehead lead me to believe that those times were more common than not.

When Sam arrived an hour later, she gave him a warm smile and a warning look.

"You take care of this one." She ordered him, gesturing to me. "If only so that the world never loses another beautiful voice." I flushed at the praise, while Sam shot me a grin.

"Yes, m'am." He drawled in that accent I'd come to love. I waved to Jeanine as we walked out. She gave me a slight smile.

"Practice your _vibrato_!" She reminded me before I walked out the door. I flashed her a smile.

"Sure thing." I promised, before waving goodbye. I turned to Sam, grinning.

"You don't think I can take care of myself?" I asked him. "After all, I _am_ the one with the master fighting skills."

"Oh, you know me." He said breezily. "Overprotective as always." I elbowed him playfully.

"Does that mean you won't let me go and photocopy this?" I waved a copy of _Greatest Jazz Songs_ in his face. "I promised I'd leave it in Jeanine's pigeon hole in the staff room. It's at the top of the building, and there isn't an elevator, so you can sit around here if you want."

"I need some reassurance that you'll come back soon." He argued, his eyes twinkling mischievously. I rolled my eyes, then leaned in to kiss him, breaking away when an old, graying woman holding a violin tutted.

"Try not to annoy her while I'm gone." I whispered, referring to the wrinkled teacher glaring at us. "I swear that violin's made out of adamantium- she hits people over the head with it when she gets mad at them." He looked at me skeptically.

"I don't I believe you." I shrugged.

"Well, you'll find out the hard way. See you in a few minutes."

I sprinted up six flights of stairs, handing the photocopying lady my book. She seemed quite surprised that I wasn't out of breath, and kept shooting me sneaky glances of amazement. I just gave her a pitying look for being unfit, deposited the original music book and sprinted back down the steps.

I noticed that Sam looked slightly bewildered; smirking when I realized that he'd encountered the wrath of the elderly violinist. Casually I slipped my arm through his.

"Let's go before she really does hit you." I said sensibly. He nodded quickly, and we walked out, hoping to make it back to the institute before that night's movie started.

_Aargh, I really screwed up the dates for when they're back at school and when they aren't. This chapter will be on a weekend. Please, please review!_

_allyg1990_


	17. The Attack of the Angry Southerner

Sam and I got through the door just as the movie was starting- this week had actually featured a team effort in what we were going to watch, resulting in everyone agreeing on 'Fantastic Four.' I had a sneaking suspicion that the promise of seeing Jessica Alba in spandex was more appealing to the guys than the actual plotline, including Scott, whose current deepest fear was that Jean would figure that out.

After threatening Bobby, I managed to secure two spots on the couch for us, next to Alex and Laura, who had no doubt used the same technique to get their places. Much more interesting than the movie was the behavior of those two- Alex had one arm slung around Laura's shoulders, looking far too scared to do much more. Laura kept shooting him nervous glanced that slowly progressed to annoyed. Finally she abruptly stalked out, Alex running after her. I bit my lip to keep from grinning as I used my advanced hearing to keep tabs on what was going on.

"Laura, what's wrong? What did I do?" he asked her, clearly confused. I heard the squeak of her boots as she spun around.

"More like what _didn't_ you do! Why are you so damned scared of me?" She yelled, her voice drowned out to the others by the blaring of the television.

"From the way you generally act it seems like if I made a move you'd slice me in pieces." He admitted.

"Did it occur to you that I'm trying to change?" she asked him, not angrily. "I just want to be normal- leave everything behind. I see Callie with Sam-" I winced. "And I wonder why I can't have that." I heard the rustle of clothing as he put an arm around her.

"You can." He told her softly. "You will." And I heard their lips touch, smiling secretively to myself. Sam shot me a look.

"What?" I protested innocently.

"It isn't polite to spy." He informed me, grinning. I shrugged.

"Cut me some slack, it's probably genetic." He snorted.

"You can blame genes for more than most people can, but I think that's one feature you can't." He said. I rolled my eyes.

"Does it really matter to you?" I demanded.

"No." he said bluntly. "I'm just finding an excuse to talk to you." I grinned widely.

"That's cute Sam, it really is. Now kiss me while Jean and Scott are occupied."

A mental cough from the telepath told me otherwise. _I'm never too occupied to pick up on stray thoughts. _I huffed.

_Like I care!_ I replied, leaning forward to press my lips to Sam's.

"Please refrain from doing that when Jamie is in the room." Scott said calmly, still focused on the movie. I backed away, surprised.

"What's with _him_?" I asked Rogue, leaning against the couch, a safe few inches away from Gambit to avoid arousing suspicion. She wiggled her eyebrows.

"Kit and ah are in the room next to _hers_. Ah have a feelin' they've been… explorin' their relationship, if you get mah wave." She said, almost disapprovingly.

"Oh please," I whispered mischievously. "Don't tell me you're not thinking about following suit?" Her face turned crimson under her powdering of makeup.

"Ah'm not sure mah control is up to that yet." She replied dryly. I leant back.

"Oh well, practice makes perfect." I repeated Remy's words to her, quickly realizing my mistake as her eyes narrowed and she jumped to her feet. I turned and leapt off the back of the couch, sprinting out of the room as fast as I could.

"You sneakin' spy!" She yelled angrily, and as I ran for my life, I heard a snippet of Sam's voice.

"I told you so."

Meanwhile, Rogue had me cornered in the next room, bare hand held threateningly over my face, the other gripping my shirt.

"I'm getting rusty." I muttered. She inched her hand closer.

"So you've been spyin' on Remy and ah?" I nodded meekly, knowing she'd suck the memories away if I didn't. Besides, I didn't want to get Laura in trouble. "And ah don't suppose Laura was there too?" I shook my head rapidly.

"She's the weapon, I'm the spy. She doesn't know how to be subtle." I lied effortlessly. She nodded.

"That's good. So are you goin' to keep your mouth shut?" I laughed nervously.

"I haven't told anyone yet. And I'm not planning on it." She eyed me suspiciously.

"Not even Sam?"

"No!" I said, offended. "I trust him and all, but he'd probably accidentally tell Bobby, who'd tell Jubilee, who'd tell _everyone_…" She let me go.

"Keep it that way." She warned, stalking off.

"Rogue?" I called after her. She spun around.

"What?" she asked, her voice threatening, arms akimbo. I grinned.

"Congratulations." A misty look came over her face, but she snapped back to normal.

"Sweet talkin' won't get you out of trouble." I shrugged.

"I know. I'm just happy. Constantly detecting unrequited love gives me a headache." Her face turned murderous again.

"You've been usin' your _powers_ on us?" I shook my head nervously.

"No… and I'm going for a late night walk. Bye!" I called from over my shoulder as I yet again took off, leaping out of an open window into the darkness, not to return until I was sure it was absolutely safe.

Luckily Rogue seemed to believe it was lack of control and not malicious intent that made me peek, so I was alive- for the time being. I just prayed to whatever greater power there was that she would never absorb a telepath and use those powers on me. And I decided to visit Calypso for a few days, just in case.

Sam offered to drop me off, and I let him. Besides, I knew he was friends with my 'mother', and she probably wouldn't mind saying hi either.

This time I pressed the button on the intercom. Charles' voice rasped through.

"Richards Residence. May I ask who is calling?"

"Hi Charles." I said happily. I could hear him wrinkle his nose.

"Ah, it's you, Calliope. Please, do come in."

The cast iron gates slowly swung open and Sam pressed his foot down, shooting me a grin.

"Doesn't sound like Charles is your biggest fan." He noted. I shrugged.

"I scared him when I jumped over the fence last time. He thought I was a vandal." I explained. He nodded.

"Now that you're an official resident of the place, I doubt you'd want to vandalize your own house." He said. I grinned.

"First impressions die hard." I reminded him. He grinned back.

"Does that mean you'll always think of me as the boy who breaks things?" I let my hand rest on his as we grinded to a stop.

"No." I said softly. "I'll always think of you as the boy who was _different_." Then I smiled wickedly. "Even if the difference was that you weren't madly attracted to me…" He shook his head.

"Maybe I was, even if I didn't know it at the time. And this you is a very different you to the Calliope I first met."

"I've changed." I remarked ruefully. "For the better, I hope." He leant over to kiss me gently.

"That's for sure." He assured me, and a squeak informed us that the door had opened. Charles was standing there disapprovingly, his cane tapping to the floor.

"Miss Richards will see you in the green room." He said primly before hobbling away. Sam shot me a confused look.

"The Green Room?" He whispered in wonderment. I nodded.

"It's a living room. There's also the blue room, the rose room and the violet room." I informed him, ticking them off on my fingers. "Come on, follow me!"

Not that I knew the green room by anything else than a passing description, but Calypso's scent lingered in the house, and I was soon able to lead Sam to her. When we entered, she stood up, smiling warmly.

"Hello Calliope, Sam." I grinned.

"Hi Mom. Do you mind if I stay here for a couple of days?" Her face lit up.

"Of course not!" Then her happy expression turned into concern. "Is there something you need to get away from?"

I laughed nervously. "Nothing more serious than a vexed southerner. Besides, do I need a reason to visit family?" Her smile widened.

"None at all. Sam, will you be staying long?" He shook his head.

"I'm sorry, but I have to get back to the institute or else Logan will decide my guts are better off as garters. Nice seeing you." He added politely. She nodded.

"It was nice seeing you Sam, however briefly. Please be assured that you're welcome here any time. As you may have noticed, there are plenty of rooms, so you needn't be worried that you'll have to share with Calliope." She remarked dryly. Turning bright pink, he scuttled off with a muttered goodbye. I turned to her crossly.

"You think that because you're my mom you have the right to embarrass my boyfriend?" I asked. She kept her face expressionless, but I could see that she was amused.

"Naturally." She replied, picking up a pot that most likely contained some sort of hot beverage. "Do you take sugar?"

_I'm sorry that that was a rubbishy ending, but I really wanted to get this up and out of the way. I probably won't be updating this for quite a while, but if people review it'll spur me on a little. Plot ideas are necessary, as my reservoir is running dry._

_allyg1990_


	18. Captured!

Calypso held out a cup of tea, but I didn't accept it, sniffing the air in a very Logan-esque fashion.

"There's someone here." I said bluntly.

Before either of us could leap to our feet, the house shook violently, causing Calypso to spill the hot tea all over me. I winced, but my healing factor quickly took care of the minor burns and I started running out of the house, my mother right behind me. Dodging falling bits of plaster, we sprinted towards the front entrance, passing an unconscious Charles on the way. Calypso quickly scooped him up- the old man was fairly frail and very light. Just before we got to the door, I felt a pull on my body, yanking me through the nearest wall and into the garden. My bones ached fiercely in a way that was vaguely reminiscent of the adamantium bonding process, and when the force finally dropped me to the ground I crumpled as my body fought to deal with this new pain.

"Callie!" Sam's voice cut through the painful haze surrounding me, and my head snapped up towards the sound. I found him quickly, restrained by some sort of metal pole that was tightly wrapped around his body. Then a dark shape obscured my vision as a man touched down to the ground right in front of me.

"Hello, Calliope. I don't believe we've met." I spat at his feet, now knowing why I was seemingly paralyzed. The tangy stench of metal wafted towards my sensitive nose, and I growled.

"Magneto." I hissed, and the figure nodded.

"Very good. And I suppose you know that it is futile to resist me? Your adamantium skeleton makes you very easy to… manipulate." A low grating sound reached my ears as he swiveled his wrist, raising me into the air and turning me upside down, making me thankful that I'd worn jeans that day.

"That doesn't mean I won't try!" I snapped, mentally reaching out a golden tendril to wrap around his skull as I tried to warp his emotions. But something resisted me, and Magneto laughed.

"You cannot use that power on me- my helmet makes me invulnerable to any telepathic power. My, my, what has Xavier been teaching you?"

I was aware of Calypso coming up behind him, and I willed her to stop, but a section of the front gate knocked her to the floor, unconscious. I kept my face emotionless, aware that tears of rage were threatening to well up in my eyes.

"Foolish woman." My captor said with distaste, turning back to me. "You will come with me. If you do not, well…" The pole tightened around Sam, and I saw him wince in pain as its rough edges began to cut into his skin, and the scent of blood filled my nostrils.

"Callie, don't listen to him." Sam snarled as the metal dug deeper and deeper into him. My focus wavered and then shattered, my eyes widening with fear for my boyfriend. Magneto just smiled.

"Yes, I think that you will be willing to join me, in exchange for Cannonball's life." Seeing no way out, I nodded.

"Just let him go." Sam was released, falling to the floor as Magneto swept me after him through the air.

"No…" Sam whispered. I looked back at him, unable to speak because my jaws were glued together by Magneto's power. Instead I responded the only way I could- by reaching out with my powers and filling him with a sense of love. It was my parting gift, because Magneto, seeing what I was doing, smiled cruelly, tightening the metal bonded to my bones so that with a crunching sound, they were crushed. Pain swamped over me in greater force than it ever had before, and I blacked out.

When I awoke it was in a room that looked more like a laboratory. The intense pain had faded somewhat as my healing factor repaired my bones, and was now just a dull stinging sensation. Then a strong scent filled my nose, and my eyes flicked open to see a tall and menacing looking man with matted blonde hair and insanely long nails standing over me, wearing some sort of metallic helmet.

He grinned when he saw that I was awake, revealing sharp, yellowing teeth.

"Look who's awake. You're lucky I'm getting paid to keep you alive, or you'd be in pieces right now. You're too much like Wolverine for your own good."

I scowled.

"I like to think I'm much more attractive. Speaking of attractiveness, that helmet isn't doing anything to improve yours." I informed him. It was true; it looked completely ridiculous against his rough exterior. He scowled.

"I wouldn't be wearing it if I was sure you wouldn't go poking around in my head." I made a face.

"My main form of attack is seduction, and I don't like seducing ugly old men." I told him. He snorted.

"Just shut up while you can." The he retreated to the other side of the room, leaving me bound and helpless. I just grinned, rubbing a finger against my rope bonds. Hydra hadn't left me without a few tricks up my sleeve, and i had a feeling i was going to need them all.

_I'm sorry this is very, very short, but I wanted to put something up to tie you guys over while I go skiing. Again, sorry, I'll try and write more soon!_

_Allyg1990_


	19. Reunited

Sabretooth had a weakness.

Just like any other cat, in a warm, cozy atmosphere, he quickly fell fast asleep. And snored.

So as soon as my rope bonds fell away I slid out of my bed, calling on years of Hydra training to slip soundlessly across the cold metal floor. Always a useful skill when you're trying to slip under the nose of someone with super senses.

I padded lightly through the metallic corridors, my spirits lifting somewhat. No security cameras in sight. This would be a piece of cake.

What I failed to notice was a paper thin laser beam sneaking across my path, cut off as my foot slid in front of it. Immediately loud, blaring alarms were set off, red lights flashing in every direction, and I swore colorfully, starting to sprint.

But I even I was no match for a wildly complicated base with winding corridors, laser beams, security cameras and a very advanced weapons system. Cannons and guns emerged from the walls, and it was all I could do to dodge the shots, stay away from the lasers and take out the cameras all at the same time.

_The X-Men had better get here soon_. I growled, but I knew there was no hope. The base was probably in the middle of nowhere. I'd have to make it out alone.

Suddenly there was a blur of blue and white, a gust of wind tugging at the hem of my shirt as I spun around. There stood Pietro, leaning casually up against the metal wall. I snarled, lunging towards him, but he disappeared in an instant, re-appearing far away from me.

"You're getting rusty, _Calliope_." He scoffed, a low growl vibrating in the back of my throat. I didn't like the way my name rolled smoothly off of his lips, as if I was someone he was well-acquainted with- _too _well acquainted with. My eyes narrowed to thin slits, fists clenching into taut balls of muscle as I took a cautious step towards him, trying to probe his mind with a golden thread of power. He only laughed.

"Nice try, manipulator." Tapered white fingers tapped against his blonde head, and I heard the rattle of metal- my keen eyesight had failed to detect the small metal cap covering the back of his head. "My father thought of everything. Now, you can make this easy and give up-" My muscles tautened, springing into action as I leapt towards the speed demon. He escaped my grasp once again, upper lip drawing back from his teeth in a crude smile. "Nah, I guessed it wouldn't be _that_ simple. Oh well, I guess I just get to have more _fun._" Before I could react, cold limbs slammed into my shoulders as I was propelled across the room, colliding with the cool metal wall. Pietro released me, taking a few careful steps backward. I tried to move, to slide my fingers around his pathetically brittle neck, but remained motionless. It was a waste of effort to move- it was as if I was glued to the wall.

"What is this?" I demanded, the feral words ripping from my throat, and Pietro was all too happy to oblige.

"It's one of the little… advantages… of having metal walls." He snickered, leaning up against the opposite slab of metal, but drawing away just as quickly in an action that I could not mimic. "They're very easy to magnetize."

"No." It was a growl, but the word was laced with fear, disillusionment, maybe even the slightest hint of a plea, as much as I hated having to suck up to this monster. I was truly trapped- damn adamantium skeletons, damn magnetic metal walls, damn the tyrant who had captured me in the first place.

"Oh, yes!" The white haired boy remarked gleefully. "I told you- I get to have more _fun_ this way." And then suddenly, he was all too close, and there was nothing I could do about it. It was uncomfortable- more so than it would have been when I was still emotionless, but now there were feelings welling up in the pit of my stomach- like _dread_, and _fear_. For the first time in my life, I was truly and utterly helpless.

"I wonder what your boyfriend-what's his name? Pinball? Softball?" I tried to squirm, but failed miserably as Pietro inched closer, hot breath brushing my face. My eyes shut, jaw clenching as I prepared for the worst. "I wonder what he would think of this?"

But suddenly the dirt bag was wrenched off of me, slamming headfirst into the opposite wall.

"He wouldn't be too happy." Sam remarked coolly, stepping forward to finish off his opponent while Amara rushed hastily to my side.

"I'm sorry we took so long." She apologized, smoothly melting the metal around my back and yanking me forwards. "At first the Professor couldn't find you, but you must have used your powers, and then you showed up on Cerebro." The huge lump of iron still clinging to my back fell away as it was ripped from its magnetic current, and I took the opportunity to stretch.

"But I couldn't." I stated, confused. "My powers don't work on anyone around here. They all wear funny-looking helmets." Amara shrugged.

"Your healing factor, then." But then warm arms enveloped me from behind, and Sam's cool lips pressed against my ear.

"I'm so glad you're okay." He muttered, voice breaking. "He- he just took you away and there was nothing I could do-" I sighed, turning around to press my palms to his cheeks.

"I'm fine. Now, as much as I'd love to kiss and make up, we need to get out of here before bucket head comes running to see what's happened to his precious little scumbag of a son." I lifted my head, tongue tasting the air until I caught the scent of the X Jet. And then I promptly began to run, faster than I'd run in months, craving the sense of security that would come with being safe with the X Men. And the longing for that sense scared me- it was something I'd never wanted before, and it was a weakness.

In the distance sunlight filtered down, reflecting a hundred times off of the silvery walls, and when I reached the source of light, I found that it was actually large hole in the ceiling. A rope ladder hung down through it and I scrambled on, looking up and grinning.

"Oof!" Bobby Drake feigned shock. "This thing is harder to hold up when you're on it, Callie!" I shrugged.

"Adamantium skeletons have their disadvantages." I retorted, lithely climbing up the rough hemp, ignoring the stinging in my bare hands as minute cuts re-healed just as soon as they formed. When I'd almost reached the top, two hands slipped under my armpits and yanked me up in to the Velocity.

"Laura!" I exclaimed, instantly composing my features, but secretly happy that she'd come to rescue me. She arched an eyebrow, seemingly amused. I only grinned.

"Why did you take so long to escape?" She asked, very matter-of-factly. I huffed.

"Not all of us can just slash ourselves free, you know." I told her. "I had to use friction to burn a hole in my ropes!" Her answering grin was almost predatory.

"I remember that trick." She admitted. "But I never got a chance to use it. Then again, I've never been held captive by someone who can manipulate metal, either."

Moments later, Amara scrambled aboard, and no sooner had Sam's long fingers touched the side of the helicopter than I'd pulled him up onto the aircraft and towards me, so that his lips accidentally came crashing down on mine.

"I missed you." I murmured after kissing him soundly. He pulled away, smiling ecstatically.

"I missed you too." He said softly, taking a moment to brush my hair out of my eyes. Then his features hardened. "I am _never_ letting you out of my sight again! So many things could have happened! Pietro was this close to-" I put a hand up, interrupting him.

"I'm fine." I said calmly. "And you're being slightly ridiculous. I'm the one with the healing factor here." He stared at me.

"Having a healing factor doesn't solve everything! You were helpless!" He ranted. "He could have _hurt _you!" I sighed, shaking my head.

"And it wouldn't have been a scarring experience. Worst case scenario, you'd feel a little cheated." I tried a smile, but it didn't work.

"_What_?" He asked, his tone dangerous. I pursed my lips.

"Look Sam, for the umpteenth time, _you don't have to worry about me_." Suddenly feelings of bitterness and rage, anger I hadn't felt for weeks flared up inside me. "Are you worried about harassment? Rape? Torture? Brainwashing? Starvation? Isolation? Beating so damned severe that it would take me hours to heal, even with the healing factor? Don't waste the energy, Sam. There is nothing anyone could do to me that hadn't been done to me by the age of fourteen!"

The helicopter was awash with silence, most faces stunned, Sam's remarkably hurt, and Laura's fairly sympathetic. I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose and closing my eyes.

"I'm… I'm sorry. That was wrong of me." But then I noticed something.

"Hang on, who actually got sent on this rescue mission?" There were only a handful of bodies in the small space, all of them part of the New Recruits. Only Jubilee was brave enough to shrug.

"Professor X didn't think it was safe enough to send anyone… so we sent ourselves." I sank into a crouch against the plastic wall of the helicopter, head in my hands. This was not good. My fingers splayed over my skin, my words barely audible through the impediment.

"Houston, we have a problem."

_Sorry it's been absolutely ages, I've had a ton of stuff going on, moving stuff home so I can lug it to my new school, and I've had virtually no time to write, and when I have, it's been devoted to stories I don't actually have writer's block for. :) I'll try to update when I can, thanks for sticking with me even though it's been so long!_

_Allyg1990_


	20. Consequences

"…and so ya decided to take the Velocity, which, by the way, none of ya have ever flown before so ya could sneak into Magneto's base and rescue Callie, even though the Professor clearly told ya not to

"…and so ya decided to take the Velocity, which, by the way, none of ya have ever flown before so ya could sneak into Magneto's base and rescue Callie, even though the Professor clearly told ya not to!"

A few of the New Recruits laughed nervously.

"…yes?" Bobby tried. Wolverine buried his face in his hands, muttering something that sounded very similar to, _'Damned kids'. _Sam folded his arms, standing up a bit straighter.

"Well, none of you were doing anything. What were we supposed to do, leave her in there for buckethead's goons to do God knows how many experiments on her?" I winced, rubbing my arms. The memory of the adamantium bonding process would never quite fade from my mind, and I shivered just remembering the pain. No way did I want anything like that happening again!

"Yes you were, Sam." The Professor raised a hand to quiet his outburst. "It was all under control. We would have left ourselves a few hours after you did, with a team much better equipped to handle the situation."

"We did fine." Sam replied sulkily. I placed my hand lightly on his arm, and he relaxed just a little bit. The Professor nodded in spite of himself.

"You did indeed. Of that, I am very proud, but also relieved that you are all safe. For that reason, your punishment will be minimal. You will each have to do three extra training sessions with Logan per week for the next two months, and will also take over household chores in the hope that we can teach you some responsibility." A groan rose up.

"_Minimal?_" Amara whined. Logan grinned.

"Well, considerin' that I wanted three extra sessions per _day-_"

"This is fine." Amara said hastily. Wolverine's grin didn't falter.

"I was expectin' you'd say that. Come on all of ya, back to yer rooms. I'll see you tomorrow at six fifteen _sharp_." They all groaned again, and as the door opened, I started walking out. Logan stopped me. "Stop right there, Callie. The Professor wants to have a chat with you and lover-boy here." Sam rolled his eyes, flopping onto the couch, with me following suit. What did they want _now_?

Once the others were gone, the Professor cleared his throat.

"Callie, first of all I'd like to say that I'm very happy you're safe." I nodded.

"Yes." I said simply. It seemed to be all he expected, he moved on to Sam.

"I'm very disappointed in you, Sam. You made a very reckless decision and put many of your friends in danger. I understand that Callie means a lot to you, but risking your teammates' lives is not acceptable." Sam nodded, slightly shamefaced. "Therefore," the Professor continued, "I'd like to propose a separation—"

"WHAT?" A chorus of muffled groans echoed from around the house. Sam had just managed to wake up half the mansion. I winced. "What?" He repeated again, at a fairly appropriate decibel. The Professor sighed.

"Not a permanent separation, Sam. I'm just worried that the two of you are so reliant on each other that you have trouble functioning when apart. For that reason, I think that Callie should pay a temporary visit to her-"

"CALLIE!" I nearly jumped out of my skin as Calypso burst through the door, obviously frantic as she sprinted over and hugged me. "Thank God you're okay." She choked out. "I thought I'd lost you." I wriggled out of her arms—they were kind of smothering, even for someone _with_ an Adamantium skeleton.

"Seriously Mom, I'm fine." I insisted. "Sam and the New Recruits rescued me." She turned to Sam, a dangerously adulating glint in her eye.

"Thank you." She said sincerely, pulling him into a hug. He wasn't as lucky as me—after a few seconds he started turning purple.

"Mom." I said hastily, tugging her away for him. "Stop. You're strangling my boyfriend." She stepped away, looking radiantly happy all the same. The professor cleared his throat.

"As I was saying, I believe that it would be beneficial for everyone if Callie paid Calypso a visit for a few weeks." I frowned. Sam folded his arms.

"Neither of us are too keen on that idea." I pointed out. The Professor sighed. Calypso's face fell.

"Well, if you don't want to visit…" She shrugged. I rolled my eyes.

"It's not that I don't want to see you…" She stared at me, a pleading look in her eyes making me reconsider. I glanced at Sam. "We didn't really get to finish our last visit together…" I argued weakly. He looked away, seemingly a bit disappointed. I took his hands in mine, trying to make him look at me. "It's just for two weeks." I promised. "And I'll call you every day."

There was a long silence. I squeezed his hands reassuringly, standing on tiptoe to softly kiss him on the cheek. "I'll miss you." I whispered, and then I turned on my heel and walked out of the room, trying hard not to look back.

_Short chappie, I know, but I wanted to give you all a little something as an apology for being so lax in updating!_

_Allyg1990_


	21. The End

_Three weeks later_…

The wind tousled my hair as I peered out of the car window, my manicured fingers clutching the door handle.

"We're not there yet," Calypso remarked, somewhat amused. "Healing factor or no healing factor, I'd rather you didn't jump out of a moving car."

I shrugged as the gates to the Xavier mansion slid open with a familiar creak. Calypso's fancy Porsche ground against the gravel and I sat up a little bit straighter when I saw the silhouetted figure standing by the door, waiting with the patience I'd come to expect.

The hood of his sweatshirt was pulled up, his face concealed, but as the car came to a halt he pushed the fabric back to let the sun chase away the pools of shadow and illuminate the half smile on his face.

He pulled the door open, and I stepped out into the cool air. I could almost see Calypso rolling her eyes as he slammed the door behind me.

"Yes, thank you, Callie, I had a wonderful time too," she drawled. I grinned, though my eyes were far from hers.

"Thanks, Mom." It was almost a murmur, and Calypso gave up, stamping down on the accelerator.

"I'll call you tonight," she yelled. I barely heard. All I was aware of was his blue-grey eyes locked on me, his fingers lacing themselves almost unconsciously through mine.

"I missed you," he whispered, and a smile graces my own lips.

"I missed you too." Then I frowned. "Why on earth are we just standing here?"

He grinned. "That's exactly what I was thinking."

His hands fitted perfectly on my waist; my arms slid around his neck. We were like puzzle pieces coming together, with only the last join of lips needed to complete the reunion—

"Callie," Sam breathed, just before his lips touched mine. Then—"I love you."

Perhaps a few months ago those words would have given me a cruel sense of happiness, or maybe even scared me. Now they felt right and I replied without missing a beat.

"I love you too, Sam."

Then I kissed him, and the world fell into place. At least until we heard a snigger from behind us.

"Wow, the ice queen has well and truly melted," Alex sniggered.

"I'm not sure I approve of that," Laura grumbled. Alex jabbed her in the stomach, getting a bruise for his pains.

"C'mon, you know _you're_ putty in my hands," he joked. Laura smiled a sadistic smile.

"You wish," she said, almost cheerful, and slung her arm around her boyfriend's neck, squeezing with all her might.

"Ouch! Laura! Lemme go!"

"No chance."

"Let him go, sugah, that ain't nice."

It was Rogue, clad in a short sleeved shirt despite the breeze, bare hands clear to see. From what Sam had told me over the phone, her 'secret' was no longer a secret—not since Jamie had caught her kissing Remy in a corner somewhere and run to Professor X for therapy. Needless to say, he wasn't very quiet about his little moment of trauma, and soon the whole mansion forced the southerners to confess.

"He's _my_ boyfriend, I'll do what I like with him," Laura countered.

Rogue grinned up at her swamp rat, who blanched. "Sounds lahke a good idea to me," she replied approvingly as she walked towards the garage, trailing a shell-shocked Remy behind her. "Well, we'll see y'all later. Don't get into too much trouble. And ah really think yah should release Alex, Laura—he's turnin' purple."

Sure enough he was, and the color clashed nicely with his blonde hair. Laura let him go almost regretfully.

"I…think…I'm…crazy…for loving…you," he spluttered as he breathed hard.

She smiled. "Well, that goes two ways, surfer boy."

I rolled my eyes, and there was no way Sam missed it. He held me just a little tighter.

"Everything's back to normal," he sighed. I shot him an incredulous look.

"Normal? When have _we_ ever been normal? Let alone them!" I gestured towards the other two couples, Laura patting Alex on the back, Remy fiddling with Rogue's hairpin to jump-start his motorcycle as Logan had confiscated the keys.

"Not normal, then," Sam amended. "Just… right."

I let myself smile then, and leant into his hold for a brief moment.

"I know," I said softly, and the roar of the motorcycle coupled with Alex's panting seemed to fade away. "Everything's right again, and with any luck, that's how it's going to stay."

"Sam—Sam—help me get inside, I know _she_ won't—"

"Shut up, can't you see they're having a Kodak moment?"

"You know what a Kodak moment is?"

"I'm a weapon, I'm not stupid—"

I sighed. Yes, perhaps this wasn't normal, but it was as normal as I was going to get. A tug on my hip made me look up at my boyfriend, and I grinned. Normal, no—but crazy as it was, my life was absolutely perfect.

THE END

_Wow. It's finished. After SO long. I'm terribly sorry for the wait, but I sat down today and thought, y'know what? I'm a huge hypocrite, badgering authors to finish their stuff when I haven't concluded my own. So here's the end—hope you liked it. _

_Thank you to everyone who read and reviewed, especially Rose Gilmore for her continued support and prodding to get me motivated throughout this, plus the fact that she mentioned this fic on her profile page! I'm extremely flattered, especially since I don't consider this to be one of my better works._

_In any case, I hope you guys will stick with me through my coming fics, especially Courting Disaster, which I'm very, very excited about. Though I have no idea how I'm going to weave X23 into there… hmm, this could be fun. Another plot twist! Yay!_

_All the best,_

_allyg1990_


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